A Different Kind Of Journey
by Dom2040
Summary: The battle against Kawaki, sends Boruto, Himawari and Sarada back in time. Now, They find themselves as unexpected pieces in a bigger conspiracy and in a world that is so familiar yet different.
1. Arc 1: Prologue (Edited and Revised)

**Disclaimer:** **I don't own Naruto. Kishimoto Does.**

 **Author's note: Hey there Readers!, This is gonna be my first ever time travel story and official story for this site. So I really hope you go easy on me because I'm just a newbie here.**

 **Thank you and Enjoy!**

 **Plot Summary: During the fight with Kawaki in a destroyed Konoha, Boruto unknowingly gets himself sent back in time along with his little sister and Uchiha Teammate.**

* * *

( **Interview)**

" **It has often been said that every beginning has an end. But what if that end was the only way that you could go back to the beginning?**

 **-Boruto**

* * *

Prologue

A Barren wasteland is what you could call the once progressive place known as Konoha. Buildings and homes were now ravaged into pieces, and there was barely any signs of any life.

Not even the seven Hokage faces were spared from destruction. All of them were completely damaged and on the 7th's destroyed face, two human figures could be seen fighting.

The battle had just begun and it was clear that there was no turning back. A young blonde man knelt down on the rocky surface, holding the handle of his blade that was stuck deep in the ground. His face was covered with dust, a few small cuts, and a right eye which is badly scarred.

There was a sense of calmness in him as he kept quiet. He opened his left eye, it's color a cerulean blue, and stared at the opponent in front of him.

"I didn't know that you go this far, Kawaki." 16-year-old Boruto Uzumaki calmly said. Even with all the horrible deaths and destruction that he witnessed, he still managed to control his rage.

His counterpart, who was revealed to be none other than Kawaki himself, just stood there holding his staff, looking down at the latter with pride and arrogance.

"It's hopeless now; I will send you to where I sent the Seventh, Boruto." Kawaki cruelly stated. "There will be a new world under His reign and everything existing in this current world must be erased to make way. The Age of Shinobi is over."

The wind blew stronger than it had before, its breeze rustling through the rubble surrounding them the only sound as they both fell into a tense silence.

Boruto kept his gaze steady and jaw hard set as he reached for his pocket. He drew out an old Konoha headband, the only difference on it was the harsh slash that ran through the middle of its Leaf symbol.

The blonde then slowly raised the headband and wrapped it around his head. At the same time, looked up with determined eyes, ready to finish this once and for all. He opened his right eye, finally revealing the Jogan.

The blue had drained from the iris into white with a darkened sclera and visible pupil. Then, small dark tattoos began to appear around his right eye down to his arms and hands.

Kawaki, however, didn't even react; he wasn't intimidated. He was ready to shed yet another persons blood to reach his ultimate goal and calmly waited for their fight to begin.

In his mind though, he was a bit puzzled about why Boruto would still want to fight after his home had already been completely destroyed. Desiring an answer, he almost asked, but the blonde spoke first.

His blonde counterpart on why the latter would still want to fight since his home had been destroyed. He was going to ask that question until the latter spoke.

"Then you're wrong... I'm still a shinobi!" Boruto exclaimed as he charged as fast as lightning towards Kawaki, his blade poised to strike. But Kawaki just smirked and lunged as well, now even more determined to put the teen back in his place.

As the two high-level ninjas clashed, their chakra and energy were emitted in extreme amounts, each hoping that the other would end up defeated. Boruto's mind was consumed with various thoughts, but most centered around his doubts and fears, making him wonder if he should be the one to give up.

 _"What if I fail to defeat Kawaki?_ _What will happen to the rest of the people that I love if I lose to him?" he wondered._

Boruto shook his head to rid himself of the self-defeating thoughts. He was not going to give up and let his little sister and the others become victims of this destruction. _"There is no turning back now."_ He thought as he prepared himself for what could come.

Unbeknownst to the Uzumaki, a certain worried, short, dark blue-haired girl and an exhausted raven-haired Uchiha teen had managed to escape and survived the horrors and tragedies that they had witness earlier. They arrived on the scene moments after Boruto began his charge and found themselves witnessing a final death match. Sarada clenched her fist as she activated her Sharingan. She was greeted by all the energy gathering in that particular area. It gave her the feeling that this will end up in a grand catastrophe.

She knew that if something bad were to happen to her blonde teammate, she would blame herself. After the death and sacrifice of both her parents, the knucklehead was the only family that she's got. Her eyes glazed shortly at Himawari beside her before turning her attention towards the main battle. He was the only family they _both_ got.

As for Himawari, the young lady was covered with dirt and the latter had a several bruises on her skin. Her clothes were almost tattered yet she didn't bother any of those recent aspects. Her mind focus on her big brother all the way. It didn't took long enough for her to finally voiced out her concerns.

"We need to help Nii-chan!" Himawari stated worriedly. She was concerned about her big brother and was eager to protect and save him from the man, who she used to treat as a family.

"No Hima! It's dangerous!" Sarada protested. She was thinking more logically and knew if they get in the way, they could potentially received major injuries or simply get killed in the process. Although, this was the knucklehead that they are talking about and they really need to help him.

Boruto's eyes widened in shock when two familiar voices reached his ears. " _Hima!? Sarada?!_ _What the heck are they doing here!?"_ He thought as he continued to charge towards his enemy.

But it was too late to stop. As his sword clashed with Kawaki's staff, a huge wave of energy surged outward with sparks of lightning appearing around the area. Boruto felt something small yet sharp had struck his skin near his right eye and it became numb after a few moments and also didn't realize that the Jougan had reacted and was glowing out of control, it being the cause of the lightning and growing energy.

Meanwhile, Himawari who was near the point of breaking down suddenly charged towards the main scene in the goal of helping her big brother. He was the only family member she had right then and it was too difficult for her to witness another death of a loved one. She'd already seen her mother risk her life to protect her and she didn't want to see her big brother risk his life.

Sarada, who was surprised by the Uzumaki girl's actions, followed. "Hima! What are you doing!?" She exclaimed. She understood what the younger girl had been going through as she had also witnessed her own mama and papa giving their lives to save her, but rushing into an obviously dangerous situation was not the smart thing to do.

Himawari ignored the raven-haired girls pleas and continued towards the two young men who were barely even due to the sparks of lightning that had very much engulfed the scene. Sarada quickly acted on the situation and proceeded to catch up with Himawari who was nearing the main site.

"I need to get her before she-" Sarada started, only to be cut off when a powerful wave of energy, one that she had never seen or felt before, hit her. It was followed by a bright flash of light so large that it completely engulfed her and the others.

Boruto was shocked as the sparkles of lightning suddenly stilled and a sudden flash of bright light hit his eyes. He found himself being engulfed by that light as if a giant shark swallowed him whole in a matter of seconds.

If anyone were to witness the whole scene unfold from a distance, the last thing that they would see or witnessed was a giant, powerful explosion. It was so massive that it would be compared to a single drop of an atomic bomb and the whole place was engulfed by the explosion.

Before blacking out, Boruto's last thoughts centered around his family. He wondered if he would get to see them soon- His mom, dad, and everyone else. He was expecting a peaceful ending to his life and he was looking forward to it.

Although, Fate had bigger and better plans for him.

* * *

 **(Interview)**

 **-I think it was because of fate which led us to where we are right now. From the very beginning, I knew that this would be a Different Kind Of Journey."**

 **-Boruto**

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 **PROLOGUE END**

 **Thank you for reading the prologue chapter**!


	2. Arc 1: Forest (Edited)

**Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto. Kishimoto Does.**

 **Author's note: Hey readers! I'm back with a new chapter! Hope you guys enjoy!**

 **Beta Reader for this Chapter: AnimeFanGirl2223**

* * *

 **(Interview)**

" ** _Just like everyone else, I had no knowledge of what was going to happen next. I'm a shinobi, so violent deaths were common in my profession, but still—I never actually thought that my life would end in such a way. Now that it might, I have no choice but to brace myself for whatever lies ahead of me. It's surprising, but dying seems to be rather peaceful and serene no matter how we go; I guess this is what heaven really feels like. Despite this calming sensation, I have a feeling that it isn't going to last."_**

 ** _-Boruto_**

* * *

The last thing that Boruto remembered before being swallowed by complete darkness was a blindingly bright light. It took a few moments, but soon, all of his senses slowly returned to him. He felt a single drop of a familiar liquid and woke up fully, his eyes snapping open.

He found himself lying on his back and looking up at something brown and green which he soon realized to be branches of a tree with leaves sticking out of it.

Boruto slowly tried to get up but felt pain all over his body. He cringed and winced, but was eventually able to sit up enough to finally get a good look at the place that he had woken up in.

"What in the world?" Boruto muttered. He had found himself in a forest, possibly in the middle of nowhere. In addition, the sky was dark and cloudy, fat rain drops slowly starting to fall. He supposed one had hit him earlier as it slipped through the fluffy tree leaves.

Of course, he was still confused. Why would he end up in some forest? His memories from before waking up here consisted of him in a death match with Kawaki. The energy surge from his Jougan had been powerful and at the time he'd thought it was going to rip him to shreds and then disintegrate all the pieces. But instead, it seemed like he'd been transported somewhere.

As the blonde slowly got back to his feet, he had to support his weight on the nearby tree, his balance still unsteady causing him to stumble around. Once he was sure that he wouldn't fall, he surveyed his surroundings. To his continued shock, he found his sister lying unconscious a few feet away.

"Hima-chan!" Boruto exclaimed as he instantly tried to rush to her. It still hurt to move though, the pain in his legs keeping him from running and causing him to limp the short distance. His mind was racing a mile a minute, thoughts boring into his head.

Was his little sister really alright? Was she injured in the blast wave like he was?

The blonde couldn't subdue his worried, overprotective 'big brother' complex away as usual; every time Himawari was in trouble it tended to come out and consume him. He kept repeating 'She's going to be alright, no matter what, she has to be alright' over and over again.

As soon as he reached his little sister, he rolled her over so that he could check her vital signs and examine any injuries she might have sustained. It was very possible that she received broken ribs and damaged muscles just as he had. He wasn't a medic ninja, but right then he had to do his best; if anything happened to Himawari when he could have prevented it, he knew he would blame himself.

To his intense relief after several minutes of intense examination, he didn't find a single serious injury to the lavender haired girl. He sighed happily, hoping that her unconsciousness was just a deep sleep and not indicative of something worse.

Boruto struggled to lift her from the ground, finding her much heavier than she had been when she was a child. He told himself that she was growing up and felt pride swell in his chest. He sat her back against a tree and then stood again to continue searching. If she'd been transported their as well, then that meant that Sarada and Kawaki could have been too.

Before leaving, he used what was left of his chakra to create a shadow clone that would guard his sister just in case, hoping that all would be well again soon. He kissed her head gently, whispering that he'd be back to take care of her.

* * *

 **(Interview)**

 **"It was the only thing what was left in chakra vault so far and I'm really glad that it was a full working clone that puff up.**

 **-Boruto**

* * *

Boruto eventually decided to search for Sarada first, his mind deadest on finding the girl that he somehow saw as a possible **crush.** He was fairly certain that she felt the same way towards him, but it was just intuition. His feelings were far more obvious since he'd always blush whenever she got near him.

The blonde shook his head to clear it. There was no time to think about such frivolous things when his priority needed to be finding her and making sure she was alright too. It took a while, but luckily the sun was still out to help him see. He eventually found her lying in a small grassy field a little ways out of the forrest.

 _"Why would you end up all the way over here Sarada?"_ Boruto thought to himself as he approached her unconscious form.

The area was quiet, almost too silent. It gave him the creeps and put him on edge, especially when he was still very low on chakra and limping. He examined her as he had with Himawari, relieved that she was unharmed as well.

He picked up her glasses that had ended up on the ground beside her and looked at her face. It was covered in a few cuts and dust, but she was beautiful. _"She might even look prettier without them on…"_ he thought as he smiled.

As he proceeded to pick the girl up though, he sensed danger coming towards them and knew he had to get here somewhere else that would better allow him to keep her safe. Just as he turned to run, he came face to face with a large wild boar, it's snarl telling him in was angry and probably hungry as well.

There was a moment of silence between Boruto and the wild boar, the wind russeling around them as they stared each other down.

"You've got to be kidding me Dattebassa." Boruto tiredly sighed. He did not want any more trouble but, it didn't look like the boar was going to back down. He had to just suck it up and run like a real man.

* * *

 **(Interview)**

 **"It practically scared the hell out of me (Chuckles) Can you imagine a fearless Shinobi scared of a small but menacing wild boar."**

 **-Boruto**

* * *

Boruto found himself running comically through the forrest for dear life as the boar chased him. He kept his grip on Sarada firm, though the girl on his back didn't even stir from the jostling trip; " _lucky for her"_ he mused.

She was still in her deep sleep and was unaware of what was happening right then. Although, there were signs of her dreaming as she was muttering some words about riding a roller coaster and eating lots of her favorite dishes.

As funny as the situation was, Boruto was still injured and tired. He knew he had to find a way to either outrun or outsmart the boar so that they could get away and he could safely get back to Himawari.

Luckily, his quick thinking worked out and he saw a large, sturdy tree coming up ahead of them, knowing he could use it to his advantage. He kept running straight at it, tricking the animal into thinking that he wasn't going to change directions anytime soon.

"Hold on tight, Sarada." He muttered as he channeled chakra into his feet and braced himself for a jump. He ran up a few steps and then did a backflip, holding his unconscious teammate tightly as he flew back.

The boar, who hadn't expected Boruto to leap away, widened its eyes in shock. It watched as the blonde barreled over it, escaping its clutches without realizing that it was still running at the tree. A moment later, the impact occurred, instantly knocking it out.

Boruto landed safely on the ground with his Uchiha teammate in one piece and finally safe. Breathing out a sigh as he headed back to his little sister.

* * *

The rain had finally stopped by the time the young Uzumaki had made it back to where he'd woken up and the sun finally appeared in the sky. He saw that Himawari was still asleep while the rays of the sun penetrated the forest and shined upon her. He then thanked the clone for its service of protecting his little sister and with a single hand sign, it disappeared in a puff of smoke.

Boruto gave a small smile as he slowly walked towards the tree where his little sister was resting and placed the still sleeping Sarada beside his her. As for the blonde he sighed and rested on a rock in exhaustion.

The blonde let out all the pressure that had been building up inside of him and breathed in a fresh breath of air, completely forgetting about Kawaki who didn't seem to have been teleported their too. Of course, he knew celebrating wasn't the answer since the enemy was still at large somewhere and he had to find a way back to civilization or at least away from ground zero.

He theorized that somehow his Jougan had reacted to the intensity of his fight and accidentally transported them far away from the ruins of Konoha. But he was not sure and there was only one way to find out.

Boruto then darted his eyes at the two girls, who were sound asleep. The blonde smiled, he was sure envious of them because they were getting a good sleep while he was still awake and acting as a babysitter for the two of them.

He knew he couldn't just leave them there, but carrying both would be difficult. There were shadow clones, but his chakra was so low he wasn't sure he could make another one right then. Boruto sighed yet again, knowing he just had to try and lift them both himself and hope for the best.

While he considered the best positions to carry them in, he saw and heard some birds flying above him. The blonde looked up and wished that he had wings so that maybe he could get an idea of where they were and where they should go. It could be a long journey otherwise.

* * *

 **(Interview)**

 **"I really didn't have any maps or whatsoever, I really had no idea where I was, but when I saw those flock of birds, it gave me idea that they could be somehow useful as a guide to get out of the forest.**

 **-Boruto**

* * *

Unbeknownst to Boruto, the birds were flying in the direction of a village, one with a large overseeing mountain with five huge faces carved into it.

* * *

 **(CHAPTER END)**

 **Author's Note: Thank you for reading the Chapter!**


	3. Arc 1: Forest Part 2 (Edited)

**Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto. Kishimoto does.**

 **Author's Note: Hey readers! I'm back with a new chapter! I hope you guys enjoy!**

 **Beta Reader: AnimeFanGirl2223**

* * *

Arc 1: The Forest Part 2

By the time noon had arrived, the dark clouds that had caused the earlier showers were finally gone, and the sun had reached its peak. Citizens everywhere could go outside and do as they pleased without the unfortunate interference of rain.

Along the vast countryside of forests and fields, there was a long, lonely stretch of road. On that road was a transportation wagon heading to its destination. The wagon was small and only needed one simple brown horse to pull it.

Two people sat at the very front of the wagon. The first was a man in his fifties with grey hair, glasses, a large beard and dark eyes. He wore a sleeveless V-neck shirt with an obi, pants and a pair of sandals. He also had a towel hung around his neck and had a pointed hat on his head. The second was a boy in his early teens. The younger had spiky black hair and dark eyes; he donned a similar attire to that of his grandfather.

The two travelers were on a journey to a familiar village, their haul holding loads of wood and building equipment. They knew the road well and were only fearful of bandits or other random acts of violence.

"Grampa Tazuna, do you think we're almost there?" Inari asked. He was obviously excited to see his friends from Konoha again.

Tazuna sighed and kept his eyes forward on the road they were heading down. "Don't get too excited Inari, but yes, we are almost there."

They could just barely see the large and famous Hokage mountain coming into view, but they still had to make it all the way through the forest ahead of them before they reached Konoha.

"Hmm, looks like we are going have to light up the candles when we enter the forest," Tazuna commented, catching the boys attention.

"What do you mean; will it get really dark or something? Inari asked. Even though his grandfather had been to Konohagakure before, this was his first time traveling so far from home and he wasn't sure what to expect.

Tazuna let out a small chuckle. "Well, the last time I went into that forest, the place was kind of eerily quiet and dark so we may have to be alert for any monsters in there." He jokingly said, attempting to scare the boy.

Inari, however, looked unamused. It had already been a long trip… and had been made that much longer from his grandfathers corny jokes; he was almost getting tired of them at that point. "Come on grandpa, monsters don't actually exist! Those are just fairy tales that parents tell their children to get them to behave. Besides, if we are close to Konoha that means there are ninja around who can help us!"

Tazuna let out another chuckle, realizing his once young grandson was growing up. "Oh, alright. I was just joking. Though, we might actually get to see a variety of animals here; forests are the easiest way to go to a zoo without paying."

Inari just rolled his eyes. Sure, his grandfather was a respected master bridge builder and was a genius when it came to architectural knowledge, but he really needed to revise his dad jokes. The teen kept quiet, knowing that as the apprentice and younger of the two, he had to maintain at least some respect; the man was his grandfather after all.

As time passed, the duo made their way through the forest and the full lights and rays of the sun slowly dwindled. The once beautiful view of a vast countryside became a quiet, gloomy forest with few rays of the sun penetrating through the trees.

Inari's mind was reeling from what to expect inside the forest. Even if he didn't believe his grandfather about monsters, he was still young and curious. This was the first time he would visit a real ninja area and wanted it to be a memorable journey.

He kept thinking back to his younger years, remembering the hyperactive blonde ninja and his team from Konoha—how they had saved him, his mother, grandfather and entire village from the clutches of a crazy mob boss.

It was only because of Naruto that he became the person he was now and after so many years, he could finally see that strange yet impactful person again.

 _"Well, if I'm going to see my role model again, I have to make it through this forest… No matter how scary it is."_ Inari thought to himself as he and his grandfather continued moving forward.

* * *

As the day continued on, Boruto found himself sweating through the back-breaking task of carrying two unconscious girls. It was like carrying a 500kg of rice in two sacks, only he couldn't just throw them around.

He still hadn't been able to discern where he was or how close to civilization he'd gotten. All he knew was that he had to find a way out or at least a road that he could follow along. He figured that there had to be one somewhere close by.

The blonde checked on Himawari and Sarada again for the umpteenth time, still finding them out cold. _"Don't worry girls, I'm going to get us out of here…"_ he thought with determination.

"Zzzzzzzz, Nii-chan I want some ice cream..." A dreaming Himawari unknowingly muttered aloud.

Sarada however, still hadn't really stirred or said a word. She wasn't even snoring her sleep was so peaceful. It was almost the complete opposite of the younger Uzumaki.

As for the Boruto, he just sighed and smiled in spite of his exhaustion and back pain. He knew that after the crazy fight that had destroyed Konoha and caused them to be warped here—wherever here was—he was at least safe and babysitting the two people that he loved as a sister and friend.

The only thing that the young man could do was keep his mind occupied by humming or singing his personal favorite songs. The blonde didn't consider himself a good singer although some of his friends commented that he had a good voice, but he'd already gone through most of his mental playlist he'd been walking so long.

As his seemingly endless trek continued, he tried brainstorming new songs that he could sing to keep his mind from going to darker places. Finally, he found one that he thought would be nice. It was about peace and love.

Boruto checked his surroundings just to be sure but figured he was probably alone since there wasn't a single soul in sight—save for the few squirrels and birds watching him from their respective trees. Concluding that the coast was clear, he began singing the first lines of the song in a carefully regulated voice.

 _"Sometimes I lay under the moon_

 _I thank God I'm breathing_

 _And then I pray don't take me soon_

 _I am here for a reason_

 _Sometimes in my tears, I drown_

 _But I never let it get me down_

 _So when negativity surrounds_

 _I know someday it'll all turn around_

 _Because..._

 _All my life I've been waiting for_

 _I've been praying for_

 _For the people to say_

 _That we don't wanna fight no more_

 _They'll be no more war_

 _And our children will play_

 _One day One day One day_

 _One day One day One day."_

As Boruto concluded the first half of the song, he paused for a moment to catch his breath, his energy still drained from such a long day of fighting and walking. He didn't even notice that he'd started to get a small audience from the various forest animals such as rabbits, birds, squirrels, and so on.

When he finished singing once more, he blushed as the animals almost seemed to applaud his display with cute chirps and squeaks. Even though it was probably just in his head, he couldn't help but feel a bit embarrassed and amused. "Oh… why did I have to sing…?"

* * *

 **(Interview)**

 **"It was kind of a small hobby whenever things become too quiet. Whether you sing or hum, Music will often maintain the mood and I didn't have regrets with the exception of me suddenly turning into some kind of fictional Princess."**

 **-Boruto**

* * *

After even more time had passed, the blonde was still stuck in the forest. However, just as he was about to give up hope, the animals that had been watching him almost seemed to guide him out. He was suspicious and confused at first but was willing to just go with the flow if it meant finding refuge.

"Man, you guys are really something else," Boruto commented; he'd never seen animals behave in such a way. Maybe it was fate intervening to help him?

The different animals somewhat reminded him of each his deceased loved ones back home. One moody looking bird reminded him a lot of his Uncle Sasuke, while one cute bunny reminded him of his mom, Hinata Hyuga.

"Man, what am I seeing?" Boruto wondered aloud. Was this the effect of his jutsu teleporting him, or was he suffering from some kind of meltdown after losing his home, friends, and family? It couldn't be a good sign that he was seeing his loved ones in animals.

"I must be going crazy." The blonde added as his thoughts clouded his mind yet again. But he still kept himself sane as possible. The only thing that he could do is look on the brighter side. He, Himawari, and Sarada were okay. "Let's just say their spirits are guiding me through this creepy forest."

* * *

Finally, Boruto saw the edge of a read a little distance away. He was so thankful for everything right then. Despite how odd it seemed, he turned to thank the creatures for helping guide him out, only to find that there was no one there anymore.

Not a single creature.

"What in the world?" Boruto muttered under his breath as goosebumps spread over his skin. That was probably the creepiest thing to have ever happened to him. He knew then that he was definitely suffering from too much stress all at once.

He turned back to the road and began walking, quickly coming across a scene. From what he could tell, there was a group of about six armed men looking like they were up to no good. He quickly moved to hide Sarada and Himawari beneath a bush, not wanting them to get caught up in the conflict when they had no way to protect themselves.

" _ **You three will say in your positions while we go and halt that wagon and horse; understood**_?" the apparent leader instructed. His followers nodded, moving to do as they were told.

" _A wagon and horse?"_ Boruto wondered as he looked around the area. Eventually, his eyes landed on the vehicle they were speaking about. He knew fairly quickly that these men were bandits and planned on attacking the unsuspecting travelers.

The blonde was tired and knew he needed to be taking care of his sister and comrade, but he also couldn't stomach the idea of leaving what appeared to be an old man and his grandson to fend for themselves.

* * *

 **(Interview)**

 **"In a series of unfortunate events, I quickly found myself in a very familiar situation. It's either I watch those innocent people get rob and hurt or do something to prevent the situation from getting worse."**

 **-Boruto**

* * *

 _ **~Meanwhile~**_

As Inari and Tazuna continued towards their destination, they were suddenly halted by three silent and masked individuals. Inari glanced up at his grandfather nervously, feeling both surprised and confused.

Tazuna, however, was in a similar state to his grandson but had more fear. After dealing with the mob boss and his goons years earlier, he knew danger when he saw it. Still, he hoped that talking would get them out of the tough situation since he didn't have ninja's there to protect him this time. "Excuse me, can we help you?" he asked the three masked people.

To his dismay, the individuals didn't verbally respond. They simply stood there for a few more moments staring creepily. Finally, the one in the middle took a step forward and brandished what appeared to be a large knife.

Tazuna's eyes widened in shock and anger. He and Inari were no match for a group like this and he knew it. He took his grandson's hand in his own and squeezed it tightly, willing him not to panic just yet.

The one holding the knife waived it to the side, silently urging them to abandon their haul. The two men beside him stepped forward as a warning for them not to run and attempt to get help while their other three accomplices stepped out of the woods, effectively surrounding the wagon.

Inari and Tazuna relented and made their way down, not missing that every one of the bandits had weapons they were clearly ready to use. They knew they couldn't escape.

"We are simple carpenters and bridge builders. You will not find anything valuable inside other than the equipment we'll be using once we reach out destination." Tazuna tried to explain as the members started ransacking his cart for treasures.

The leader of the gang refused to believe the old man though and sneered behind his mask. "How unfortunate for you two… Unless you tell us where you are hiding your fortune that is."

He then signaled for his followers to separate the two, making both Inari and Tazuna panic with fear and dread.

"No, grandpa!" Inari exclaimed as he was forcefully pulled away.

"Inari, don't resist, just do what they say," Tazuna warned, still trying to keep the situation as under control as it could be.

"So old man, are you going to admit on where it is or are we going to have to push you a little harder?" The bandit leader asked. He simply couldn't believe that anyone traveling near a village as affluent as Konoha could be without money. _"This old man is playing stupid. He definitely has something valuable hidden in there somewhere…"_

When Tazuna still shook his head, he punched him hard in the stomach, the force of the blow causing him to fall to his knees in pain.

"Grandpa!" Inari screamed in distress, struggling against his captor's rigid grip without success.

The leader smirked beneath his mask, chuckling darkly. "Oh, your poor grandchild. I think I'll 'take care' of him first." He stated as he moved towards the boy, his evil intentions apparent. "Hmm. You don't look so happy; what if I try to carve a smile into your face?"

"No, Inari!" Tazuna yelled helplessly. All he could do was watch and shout as the vile man waved the knife closer to his grandson's face.

"Please somebody help me," Inari mumbled quietly to himself. He closed his eyes and shook with fear, waiting for the worst to come. But the pain never came.

Just as the knife was about to touch Inari's cheek, it was stopped by a firm grip. "Hey! Why don't you pick on someone your own size?" a voice growled.

The bandits, Tazuna and Inari all looked to the source, finding a blonde teen glaring at the leader. In an instant, the newcomer sent a harsh fist flying towards the masked man's face, knocking him to the ground easily.

The two members holding Inari let go to help their boss, proceeding to attack the helpful young man only to be disarmed in a matter of seconds, their knives falling from their hands. Boruto gave them a taste of their own medicine, kneeing one in the groin and kicking the other's legs out from under him.

Inari and Tazuna though grateful, were frozen in shock a few feet away, watching the young man take down three assailants without any effort.

"He looks familiar" Inari whispered, easily recognizing the blonde hair, vibrant blue eyes, and whiskered cheeks. _"It couldn't be…"_

"Who the hell are you!?" The bandit leader shouted, his remaining followers preparing for a fight they knew they couldn't win.

Boruto just smirked. "Well, you guys can call me Bolt." He replied, citing his other nickname.

"What are you doing here!?" The still masked man demanded; their plan had been going so smoothly before his interruption.

The teenage blonde sighed but gave his signature Uzumaki smile. "Let's just say that I'm passing by."

 **CHAPTER END**

* * *

 **Author's note: Thank You very Much for reading this chapter**.


	4. Arc 1: Forest Part 3 (Edited)

**Disclaimer:**

 **I don't own Naruto. Kishimoto Does.**

 **Author's note: Hey there Readers!, I'm back with a new chapter! Just like the last chapter which was about 3000 words. Hope you guys enjoy!**

 **BETA READER FOR THIS CHAPTER: Akame3 and once again Vapor 0907**

* * *

 **Arc 1: The Forest Part 3**

Like a scene from a cheesy movie, everything happened the same. Innocent people became victims of the wrong deeds, and in the end, being saved by a special someone. At least, for Inari himself, he was seeing all of it coming to life, just as a slash nearly appeared upon his cheek.

"Inari." A familiar voice said. Inari turned around to see his grandfather push himself off the ground in pain.

"Grandpa!" Inari cried as he rushed to his grandfather's side. He mentally cursed himself for not noticing what had happened around him.

"I'm really sorry, Gramps," Inari apologized guiltily.

"It's alright," Tazuna said patting Inari's head. "I'm still alive, aren't I?"

When Tazuna turned his attention back to the present, he scanned the young man with spiky blonde hair, starting him right in his cerulean blue eyes. He threw off his tattered black jacket in favour of his plain white tee, tucked into his long-belted pants. Tazuna's eyes roved over the boy's right eye, sealed shut by a nasty scar stretching the length of his face, and whisker-like marks that graced his cheeks, forcing Tazuna to realize who he was, or could be.

"Naruto?" He whispered. But it was impossible for the young man to be the person that he was thinking about.

* * *

 **MEANWHILE**

Boruto had readied himself for another round with the bandits. There were less than there had been a while ago, taken care of and tossed aside. With not a single weapon, he was forced to fight with his bare fists.

His eyes darted between each bandit, unsure who would dare to strike first. He thought of his Jogan but dismissed it with another thought. He chakra was drained, and he hadn't the strength left to use it. He only had his taijutsu and his wits about him.

The leader of the bandits smirked confidently. "You're outnumbered, kid. There's nothing you can do. You won't stand a chance against us."

Boruto was hit with confusion. Did the bandit leader not just see what he did to his other minions? Boruto ignored his taunts. They would get what they deserved.

"You fight like children, yet even children can fight better than you," Boruto retorted. "Your mighty butter knives can't do a thing."

The bandit leader's eyes narrowed as he glared. "Why you son of-" He was about to say when he was suddenly interrupted by none other than Boruto who in the blinked of an eye charged at him and cuffed the leader upside the face, sending him flying into a nearby tree.

But Boruto had seen it coming and was too fast for the two henchmen as they came at him with their small kunai in hand, his world automatically slowed. He dodged their attacks one by one, then immediately relieved them of their weapons. One of them retaliated by attacking him with a straight hook-headed for his face but he avoided it with a crouch. The henchman's fist instead collided with his partner who had snuck up on Boruto, in hopes that they could catch him in a lock and put him down.

Boruto then quickly took advantage of the surprised henchman bandit by kicking his legs out from under him and watched as the bandit fell to the ground in pain.

Boruto briefly glanced down at the fallen bandit as their leader called him out again.

"If it wasn't for you meddling bastard we would have had what is ours!" The Bandit leader roared as he charged at the blonde.

Inari had seen this one coming and acted upon his instincts as he surveyed his surroundings and saw a great tree branch. He quickly ran to it and took hold. At the same time, the bandit leader charged towards the young man again.

"Stay down you loser!" Inari yelled as the boy ran to the leader and knocked him across the back with the branch. The leader's body raced to the ground groaning in pain.

"Dammit!" The bandit leader cursed before his eyes flickered closed.

Boruto's muscles stiffened as he watched Inari throw down the tree branch, brushing his hands off on his trousers.

"Now that was unexpected," Boruto muttered.

The so-promised road robbery had been turned into a butt-whooping for the bandits who all laid on the ground in front of Bouto at his feet.

There was a brief moment of silence between Boruto and the two people in front of him. The blonde searched his mind for a reason the young and old man were staring at him so oddly, almost as if they knew him.

Inari and Tazuna continued to stare at Boruto in awe, a single question rattling like gunfire in their heads. Are you Naruto?

"Are you really Naruto?" Inari asked with a gaping mouth.

Boruto looked at the two in front of him, when another thought invaded his mind. "Hima-chan and Sarada-chan!" The blonde exclaimed. He left the two still unconscious girls in the forest. He then wasted no time by leaving the scene and rushed to the girls.

Meanwhile, grandfather and son glanced each other in confusion, but Inari quickly decided to follow the blonde whenever he was going.

"Inari, where are you going?" Tazuna asked.

"Don't worry, I'll be alright, Gramps," Inari replied as he followed the other young man.

* * *

Boruto burst into the clearing where he left Himawari and Sarada, the magical fox still sitting near them, watching over them just as promised, and just as Boruto had asked. Unharmed and untouched.

"Oh, thank god," he said letting out a breath. He knelt beside the girls and scanned them for anything out of place. They had been left untouched, slumbering peacefully on the soft grass.

"You girls are going to be alright, okay?" Boruto assured the sleeping girls. The fears that had been weighing him down lifted as he looked at each of the girls, the fears of losing them lifted as they remained unharmed.

However, the blonde felt a tap on his shoulder as he turned to see the orange fox giving him a look of assurance. It said nothing but Boruto could see it in its eyes.

Boruto raised both his eyebrows in bewilderment while the fox just simply smiled and nodded as if it were telling him not to give up and be strong.

"Oh." Boruto muttered. He was getting what the fox meant when suddenly he felt another presence that appeared behind him.

"What are you doing?" The familiar voice asked.

Boruto turned around to see the boy from just now who was confused on what he was doing. The blonde wanted to explain his current situation right away.

"Oh, I was just talking to..." Boruto trailed off when he turned around and saw that the fox had vanished from his sight.

"Talking to what?" The boy asked with a skeptical look.

Remembering that talking to animals was a bit weird for anyone to hear, Boruto shook his head as he scratched his nape.

"Umm, listen, Kid, I think I might need your help for a bit," Boruto said as he changed the subject.

The Boy nodded. "What kind of help do you need?" He asked.

Boruto sighed. "Do you have any space for these girls in your wagon?" He asked as he gestured to the two sleeping girls.

* * *

 **(Interview)**

 **"During that time, I wasn't sure if I was just seeing things. The only possible reason that I can think of is that it had something to do with mental exhaustion that you start to see things randomly and it pretty much gave me the creeps!"**

 **-Boruto**

* * *

The day continued without any incident. After the whole robbery fiasco with the bandits, Tazuna and Inari quickly helped the blonde in providing a proper place for the two unconscious girls to rest at the back of the wagon itself.

Boruto leaned on one of the wooden walls inside the wagon, after the back breaking journey from the forest where he had to carry the two girls on his back, he could finally relax without any interruption.

"Man, I'm beat." The blonde Uzumaki tiredly muttered. He was exhausted. Both physically and mentally, his chakra was still on the lowest of levels and he felt that he was just going to fall.

Boruto then slowly closed his eyes. When he only saw darkness, he immediately felt his consciousness slowly drifting away until suddenly he heard a very familiar voice.

"Not bad, Boruto," said a voice he hadn't heard in a long time. A voice he shouldn't have heard right then either.

Boruto opened his eyes and jolted off the wall. He then looked around his surroundings unti his eyes fell on a single person standing across from him in the wagon.

"U-Uncle, uncle Sasuke?" Boruto stuttered. It was his mentor who sat and rested on the wooden wall on the otherside.

Boruto couldn't believe his eyes. He was seeing his mentor in front of him, who was supposed to be already dead back home. Although, the blonde managed to keep his sanity in check. He told himself he was just seeing things. The Uncle Sasuke in front was the exact same man that the blonde last time saw.

Meanwhile, The Raven haired Uchiha just smiled. " _ **You don't have to worry. Just calm down."**_

"What do you mean?" Boruto asked. Despite the fact that this was only an illusion to him.

 _ **"What am I saying is. You don't have to be worried about anything."**_ The Sasuke in front of him said.

" _ **You're just like the dobe was when he was younger**_." He added with a chuckle.

 _ **"I'm really proud of you. Thank you for taking care of my Sarada**_." He thanked. He'd never stop believing in the dobe's son. He had that determination and perseverance in him.

For Boruto, He was still processing on what the latter had said. Although, He had to admit he missed his mentor. If he were alive and here, he would have guided the Boruto himself.

Boruto slowly closed his eye, a single tear falling on his cheek. "Thank you, Sensei," Boruto whispered.

"Hey, Naruto-san!" The voice of a kid suddenly interrupted the silence. The blonde opened his eye yet again to see that his sensei had vanished in front of him. Only to te replaced by the kid, Inari who was staring at him with a confused looked.

Boruto blinked a couple times before he shook his head and rubbed his temples." Umm, sorry, Kid, but my name is not Naruto, just to let you know." He corrected the boy. He knew that he looked like a carbon copy of his dad.

When The blonde said that he was not the guy that he was looking for, Inari's hopes dwindled. He thought that this was Naruto himself.

"What's your name then," The boy asked.

Boruto took a few moments of quietness before answering. "Bolt. You call me that," He said.

"Oh, my name is Inari then." The boy introduced himself.

"Nice to meet you Inari, but can I ask you something?" Boruto asked.

Inari raised his eyebrows. "Yeah sure, Go ahead."

Boruto took a few moments to organize his thought's before speaking. "Could you tell me where we are right now?" He inquired.

Inari thought for a moment before answering. "Umm, my gramps and I are on our way to Konoha." He replied.

"Konoha? Why are you going there? It's dangerous! That place is nothing but a wasteland now, you have to turn around and go back." Boruto said as he looked the boy dead in the eyes.

The boy just gave him a puzzled look. He was excited to go to the village for the first time, but then some guy comes along and tells him that the place is nothing but a wasteland? Not buying it.

"What do you mean by wasteland? This is my first time going to that place and I heard that the place has got a mountain with five faces on it." Inari said excitedly.

Boruto shook his head." I think you are mistaken, Kid, but Konoha is really..." Boruto was going to correct the boy but instead trailed off.

"Konoha is what?" Inari asked impatiently.

"Five faces?" Boruto whispered, his words barely leaving his lips. It was impossible.

"You said there were five faces in the mountain?" He asked.

Inari nodded. "Yeah, that's what I heard from Grandpa." He explained.

Boruto's expression was blank. The gears in his mind turned. How could the place he called home be alive and well? He saw the destruction of the village with his own eyes. Then there were only five faces on the Hokage mountain? That's absurd but unless he was telling the truth, then that must mean that he somehow...

* * *

 **(Interview)**

 **"When Realization had took over me, it was really a shocking revelation. I even tried to deny it as many times as possible in my head but something was convincing me that somehow this was all true."**

 **-Boruto**

* * *

There was then a sudden interruption as the wagon lurched to a stop. The silence was broken as Inari immediately hopped out of the wagon and went to the front to see what was happening, and Boruto followed.

The wagon had stopped in a small and open field. Tazuna surveyed the area and determined it was where they would set up camp for the night.

"Gramps, what's going on?" Inari, who just came out from the wagon asked. Boruto scanned the field as he came to a stop beside Inari.

"Sorry if I startled you boys, but we are going to have spend the rest of the day here." Tazuna explained.

* * *

 **(LATER ON)**

It was already afternoon and the sun was going to set soon. So, it would be best for them to set camp here to have a deserving rest after a very tiring and eventful day.

Night had finally come as the moon glowed bright. The guys had finally settled in their camp. The bonfire was already big enough to accommodate everyone from the cold breeze.

Boruto also had the two unconscious girls brought out from the wagon and were now in the camp area along with the warm heat from to the bonfire to keep them warm. The two girls were placed in two different sleeping bags that were fluffy enough for them to be comfortable.

Boruto observed the two girls as he sat on a wooden log facing them wondering how long they would sleep and when they would wake up.

"Hey, kid, are you alright?" A voice then interrupted the blonde's thoughts as he looked to see the boy's grandfather.

"Umm, Yes sir, I'm okay." Boruto politely said. Although, He was obviously exhausted.

"I know, it's been an exhausting day, but dinner is ready if you're hungry," Tazuna said, offering the blonde some food.

"Thank you, sir." Boruto thanked the old man.

He then looked back at the two sleeping girls" Be right back, girls." Boruto said as he went to join the two for dinner.

The rest of the night was uneventful except for the blonde conversing with the boy and old man with him. He learned that the old man, named Tazuna, was a master builder while his grandson was his protege.

They were on a journey to the village of Konoha because the old man had been called there while the boy only wanted to tag along. They continued to bombard him with questions, and Boruto thought each and every answer through carefully.

"So, what brought you to the forest? Did you get yourself in trouble?" Tazuna asked. Considering the tattered condition of the clothes that the blonde wore right now.

"Well, umm... actually, we came from a small village far away from here. Eventually, our village was attacked and destroyed by raiders. My little sister and my friend and I were the only survivors." Boruto explained. He couldn't tell them too much. He needed to be as careful as possible.

"That's horrible, I'm very sorry..." Tazuna apologized. He was sad to hear the terrible news from the blonde.

There was silence around the area, right in the blonde's mind he kept replaying the events that happened during the destruction of the village that caused the death of his loved ones and fight between him and Kawaki.

"It's alright sir, the important thing is that we survive but the only problem is we have nowhere to go." Boruto explained. It was true though, their only home was destroyed.

At the same time, Inari's eyes widened. "Hey! Maybe the Hokage can help!"

Both Tazuna and Boruto turned to the boy with surprised reactions." I heard that she was really scary though." Inari added before taking another bite of his food.

"Hmmm...The Hokage, Lady Tsunade." Tazuna said which caught the attention of the blonde.

"Granny?" Boruto muttered aloud enough for the old man to hear.

"Granny? Do you know her?" Tazuna asked. What was the kid talking about?

Boruto came back to his senses. "Oh, uhmm... I heard from the people that I know that the hokage there is quite old already." He explained.

Tazuna was surprised. "Oh well then. But she looked incredibly young for her age." He said wondering why the teen would say that.

There was silence for a few moments before the old man spoke again.

"So, what are you going to do now?" He asked.

Boruto sighed. "Well, I guess I have no choice but to go to Konoha since it's the nearest and safest place. Although, I have to talk to the Hokage herself." He Explained.

Tazuna nodded. "Well, I hope all goes well for you." He said as he then drank his cup of water.

Boruto nodded. "Thank you, sir." He respectfully thanked the old man before eating a spoon full of his beef stew.

"By the way though!" Boruto looked up to see the boy looking at him. The blonde raised both his eyebrows in question.

"How'd you learn how to fight like that? Are you some kind of Shinobi or something?" Inari asked. He was curious how the blonde handled the bandits.

"Can you teach me?" Inari added.

"Inari, could you please stop? Let him eat his dinner in peace," Tazuna said.

"Sorry hehehe." Inari giggled while scratching the back of his head.

Tazuna could only sighed. "I'm very sorry about my grandson. He wants to be just like those Shinobi," He explained.

"It's alright, I understand, I also wanted to be one." Boruto chuckled. He was surely going to enjoy this night. No more dangers, no more bandits, and no more sudden interruptions.

Just him and the comfy heat of the bonfire.

* * *

As midnight neared, Boruto finally got a chance to lay down on one of the sleeping bags. After all the ordeals and challenges, he faced today, he deserved a proper rest.

Before that, He checked the two sleeping girls up to see on how they were doing and made sure that they were in a comfortable and alright. He kissed his little sister's forehead and adjusted his Uchiha teammate near the fire.

"Man, this is the best thing that happened to me Dattebasa!" He exclaimed quietly as possible as everyone had already gone to sleep.

He yawned tiredly as he relaxed his head on a small pillow. He thought about what happened that day. From waking up in a random forest to finding himself in this journey back home.

He concluded that he somehow had been transported back in time after the clash with Kawaki. He didn't know how it happened, but he did know he had more questions than answers.

How would he convince the Hokage to believe him and help him?

Would they believe him? Or would they think he was lying and dismiss him without another thought?

This was just too much problems for the blonde to handle but to all of that. He remembered something Uncle Sasuke had said to him before. Overthinking will lead to your destruction.

"Thanks, Uncle Sasuke," He muttered as he yawned again.

Boruto looked up at the night sky with the full moon glowing from above. He wondered as his consciousness drifted away.

"Will there ever be a chance to go back to the life that he once knew?"

 **END OF CHAPTER**

* * *

 **Authors note: Thank you for reading the chapter! If you have any ideas for the story, feel free to share them to me by PM**.


	5. Arc 1: Realization (Beta Edited)

**Disclaimer:**

 **I don't own Naruto. Kishimoto Does.**

 **Author's note: Hey there Readers! I'm back with a new chapter! This one is a bit short. Just a filler. Hope you guys enjoy :)**

 **Expect grammar and spelling mistakes**

 **Beta Editor: Akame3 and Vapor0907 is also here**

* * *

 **Arc 1: Realization**

Morning had arrived. It was a sign of the new day dawning, another chance to start the day over. And for one teenage blonde, this new morning would be his chance to start all over again. Birds chirped loudly in the forest like an alarm clock awakening the people who had fallen asleep that night under the cover of the leafy green canopy.

Boruto's eyes slowly cracked open. The first thing that greeted him when he opened his eyes was the beautiful morning sky, the sun still rising on the horizon. He blinked a couple times before attempting to rise from his sleeping bag.

His eyes squinted at the light piercing through the leaves but soon came to his senses as he scanned the greenery around him. The blonde groaned as he rubbed his eyes. As his vision cleared he found the old man and the young boy sitting across from each other at a small fire, nibbling on some bread and sipping some coffee.

"Bolt-san!" Inari shouted catching Boruto's attention.

"Breakfast is here if you're hungry." The boy informed him as he took another chunk out of his bread dipping it in his dark drink.

"Thank you, I'll be right there." Boruto yawned as he finally stood up.

Before he proceeded to join the others, he went up to the two sleeping girls to see if they were alright. When the teenage blonde finally got to them, their sleeping figures filled his vision.

"How long are they going to sleep?" Boruto whispered as he observed the two sleeping girls. His little sister was still in a deep sleep as usual but as for his Uchiha teammate, there was something different.

Instead of the quiet and peaceful sleep from before, now she was a bit livelier. Muttering some words that the blonde couldn't understand. Of course, Boruto dismissed it, but upon a closer look, she was actually talking to someone.

So, when the blonde got a closer look he saw that the raven-haired girl's lips were slightly moving as though she were actually talking. He moved a bit closer and her voice filled his ears.

"B-Boruto." The dreaming Sarada muttered loud enough for him to hear it.

"Is she dreaming about me?" Boruto asked puzzled. He wondered of all people that the raven-haired girl could have dreamt about, why him?

Then she spoke again. "Boruto. . ." She mentioned his name again.

So far, the blonde was confused. She kept mentioning his name over and over again. Boruto could only sigh, He thought that this would take longer and decided to leave and let her daydream for now.

As he was about to leave, the Uchiha girl spoke again. "I love you."

Boruto, who already had stood up raised his eyebrows in confusion. What had she said? Boruto hadn't heard very clearly so he leaned down to her again and listened.

As Boruto moved closer, he accidentally tripped over a rock and found himself falling on top the dreaming Sarada. But before he could fall on her, he quickly reacted and spread his arms which held him right above Sarada, their faces only inches apart.

" _Phew! that was close,"_ Boruto thought to himself as he took a breath.

But what scared him, even more, was that second later, Sarada's eyes suddenly flew open. They stared at each other in a moment of shock, neither moving nor reacting. Boruto could hear his heart beat loud and clear as he stared at the raven-haired girl who was staring back at him. His cerulean eyes meeting hers.

Sarada didn't move as she felt the blood rushing to her cheeks, flushing her face.

"Umm, good morning, Sarada-chan?" Boruto said embarrassingly. "Sarada-chan, are you al-" He said but was cut off with a fist to the face from below him.

The punch was so strong that it sent the blonde midair before landing on the ground.

"What happened?" Tazuna asked almost dropping his coffee.

"Hey gramps, that girl is finally awake," Inari said pointedly.

On the other hand, Sarada, who came back from a dream, was a bit disoriented at first as she suddenly regained her senses from her deep sleep. She also noticed that she had no glasses, so her vision was a bit blurred. She tried to look for them and successfully found them just beside her. She then put on her red glasses and first saw her blonde teammate on the ground rubbing his chin.

"Oh no, Boruto are you alright? I'm really sorry, I didn't mean to do that!" Sarada said rushing to the blonde.

"Yeah, I'm fine." Boruto nodded. His voice struggled to say the words.

* * *

 **(Interview)**

 **"I honestly didn't expect that was going to happen. I thought I was saved by the bell but instead I got the morning greeting from her." (Sighs)**

 **-Boruto**

* * *

The Morning went on. Boruto found himself staring at Sarada the entire time, who had a strong appetite at the moment as she devoured piece after piece of bread and cups of hot chocolate.

"Yum. This is really good!" Sarada commented. Her day was going great so far, especially the breakfast part of it. She really can't believed that she was somehow enjoying a simple meal of bread and hot chocolate. Was it really a new sense of taste or was she really just hungry?

As for the Boruto himself, the teen was quite surprised to see his Uchiha teammate in front of him and widely awake. He did not expect his teammate would wake up from her deep slumber so soon. In fact, he had expected her to be still continuing on sleeping for a couple more days.

As for Tazuna and Inari, they were just as surprised as the blonde. With a new person joining to the scene who was also a girl. This morning couldn't get any better.

"Umm, Sarada?" Boruto called his teammate. She still was busy eating.

"Sarada-chan?" He called the second time, but the girl just ignored him yet again.

"Sarada-chan, are you done?" He asked as he called for the third time.

The Uchiha teen had finished the last of her bread and was now drinking her chocolate milk.

Then She suddenly realized that the blonde was talking to her throughout the time she was eating her breakfast.

"Oh, I'm so sorry Boruto, how could I not notice." Sarada quickly apologized. She didn't know what had gotten into her. First, she unknowingly punched her teammate in the face, second, she was eating breakfast like a hungry wolf and third, she wasn't even listening to her friend and just kept eating.

But Boruto could only sighed back. Yes, this was the Sarada Uchiha that he knew, and quite obviously loved he was really glad that she finally woke up. That would also mean that his load of carrying unconscious people in the back would be reduced by 50 percent.

"It's alright, Sarada-chan, I understand, you don't to be really that apologetic-dattebassa," Boruto explained. For Sarada, she couldn't even count the number of how many "Sorrys" that she had said.

"Oh," She muttered. Silence encompassed the group.

Boruto was observing his teammate. There was a certain innocence in her. She was acting as if nothing serious happened. Of course, she was unconscious for almost 2 days now, but can she not remember what happened during the events before they were unknowingly sent here by mysterious circumstances.

"Umm, Sarada-chan, there is something that you should know." Boruto said calmly and carefully. He sure didn't want to shock the girl.

"Yes, what is it?" Sarada asked then kept quiet. Although, after a few moments she remembered suddenly the whole ordeal before.

"Oh no! Where's Himawari!?." Sarada exclaimed. Her Panic had managed to catch up with her.

"Sarada-chan."

"Boruto, we got to go back to the village! They might be still alive!" She exclaimed non stop. She was on the verge of fully freaking out.

"Sarada-chan, please calm down."

"Oh no, Boruto, we have to do something! We can't just stand around and wait!"

Boruto who was finally getting annoyed finally yelled out to the girl." Sarada-Chan! If you don't calm down, you won't get any answers, so please will you listen to me first!" Boruto scolded.

Sarada immediately shut her mouth up. She was surprised that the blonde would say something like that. She still remembered the hyper knucklehead blonde when she was a kid, but this was a different person.

Boruto sighed. This was getting embarrassing and awkward for the people that were watching them argue the whole time. The blonde then turned his direction to the two and gave them an apologetic smile.

"I think we should talk somewhere privately." Boruto then said. As the blonde proposed to the latter to talk somewhere else to avoid further awkwardness.

* * *

 **(Interview)**

 **"I was kind of in the mood at the time. So many things were just happening inside my mind to the point where I'm not aware of what I'm doing and It was pretty embarrassing for me and to the rest of them.**

 **-Sarada**

* * *

The sounds of water can be heard from a stream. Sarada just stared and watch the water flow down in a certain direction. There was a sense of disbelief in her mind. Right now, she didn't know what to do or think instead of wondered on what she was going to do for the rest of her life now.

Her home was gone. There was no turning back. All the people that he knew and loved, His Parents, Cho-Cho and everyone else had been the victims of the destruction that plague the village. She never really knew who or what caused the destruction. Her only knowledge was that this person named Kawaki was mainly responsible for what has happened. The man, who would become the cruelest person in the world that she had ever met.

Her thoughts also went far by reliving on how she became a witness on the death of her parents during the destruction. She tried to calm her mind, but it wouldn't cooperate. Then she felt someone tap her on her back.

"Hey, Are you alright?" Sarada snapped out from her thoughts. As she looked up to see the blonde staring at her with a concerned look.

"Ummm, yeah I'm fine. It's just that I need to absorb the information that you told me." Sarada said. She then stared back at the stream.

Boruto could only give her a sad smile. What can he do now? Does he have the power to bring things back?

"Sarada-chan, it's okay if you want to let it all out." Boruto said as he gave an encouraging but sad smile..

Sarada then turned to the blonde." What makes you think that I wanted to cry?" The Uchiha girl said with a hardened face. Although, in truth, she really wanted to let it all out.

"Well, Umm-" Boruto was about to say something when he got cut again by the latter.

"Did you cry?" Sarada asked. As tears can notably be seen forming around her eyes.

The teenage Uzumaki could sighed. He in fact did cry, but in secret. He couldn't keep the pressure contained inside of him.

"Yeah, I did" He replied back. Expecting the girl to burst out at any moment.

Sarada turned her eyes to the flowing stream again. There was the silence that took over yet again. The blonde was about to say something again to comfort his Uchiha teammate, when she suddenly turned back to him and hugged him tightly. The raven-haired girl then planted her face on the latter's chest to keep anyone from seeing her from crying.

Boruto smiled and comforted the Uchiha girl. He understood what she was going through right now. The blonde then darted his eyes on his surroundings. Particularly, the other side and caught a glimpse of his Uncle Sasuke yet again who leaning on a certain tree. The latter gave the blonde a nod to the head and smiled.

"Hey, Bolt-san!" A familiar voice was then heard calling the blonde's name.

Boruto turned around and saw the boy, Inari who just arrived at the scene.

Inari was a bit confused. His grandfather instructed him to call the guys that it was time to leave but had arrived just to see that something was going on.

"Ummm, Is she alright?" Inari asked. He first noticed that the girl on the blonde's chest and seemed to be crying.

Boruto gave him a smile." Yeah, She's alright." He assured.

Inari blinked a couple of times before shaking his head." Well, just to let you guys know that we will be leaving soon but there is still food if you guys still wanted to it." He explained.

"Yeah, thank you very much, we will be right there after she finish-" The blonde was about to finish his sentence when the raven haired girl let go of him and turned to face the boy.

"Thank you very much, Inari. I would be happy to eat again." Sarada informed the latter while wiping her tears from her eyes. Of course, what better way to cope with this is just to have a nice breakfast again. At least that will take out the remaining stress and negative vibes from her.

Inari blinked a couple times again." Umm. . . Okay." He said with a bewildered look on his face.

"Just you make sure that you won't eat enough to be a contender for Cho-Cho hehehe." Boruto said jokingly.

As a result, he found himself on the ground receiving one of Sarada's fearsome punches. While she was still an Uchiha that ability came directly from the Haruno side of the family.

* * *

 **(Interview)**

 **"The thing about Sarada is that she always had these mood swings. Sometimes, she's irritated, sad, angry and then happy. I could never really understand her. I am no Psychologist but I think she's the craziest person I've ever met." (Chuckles)**

 **-Boruto**

* * *

The day went on as normal with Sarada helping herself another round of breakfast. Meanwhile, Boruto helped packing some things and carrying his little sister safely to the wagon afterwards. The weather was a sunny but still pretty windy which was pretty standard for the Land of Fire.

When the time came to leave for the Leaf village. All of them had boarded the wagon and left the small open field. Boruto sat near the back observing his little sister who was still sleeping blissfully.

Sarada had already checked on why she was still in this current state. She concluded that the Uzumaki girl was fine since there were no serious injuries to be found. Her emotional state however was likely much more strained. It's only a matter of time before she awakes to an entirely new world.

Sarada stared outside of the wagon. She was seeing the forest and the road from the back of the wagon. She wondered on the most farfetched information that she received so far, which was they somehow sent back to the past, which wasn't impossible seals could do some incredible things but somehow Sarada thought that that wasn't what caused this. But the only way to truly figuring out what was going on would be to see it firsthand.

Of course, Inari's claims that the Hokage mountain only had 5 heads which was a ridiculous notion but expecting the unexpected was a ninja's job.

Boruto on the other hand was staring at his Uchiha friend. He had to be strong for her and Himawari. He knew that a lot would be expected from him.

As the journey finally comes to an end, the wagon stopped its tracks in front of two large wooden gates. Signifying that they finally arrived at their destination.

The Village of Konoha.

* * *

 **END OF CHAPTER**

 **Author's note: Hope you guys liked the chapter. Thank you for reading!**


	6. Arc 1: Arrival (Edited)

**Disclaimer:**

 **I don't own Naruto. Kishimoto Does.**

 **Author's note: Hey there Readers! I'm back with a new chapter! I was kind of busy with school and work, but I managed to find time to write a new chapter. Hope you guys enjoy :)**

 **Beta Reader: Setsuna Eien**

* * *

 **(Interview)**

 **"Time Travel, No one would really believe that the so-called old phenomenon from the old books that our parents would tell us during bed time is real. Heck! even children would also get the point.**

 **It was just an Urban Legend like many of those legends. However, In my case I was seeing the impossible before my eyes. The village that I called Home, was very much alive and well. Different from the apocalyptic version that I witnessed back then, in my own time.**

 **-Boruto**

* * *

 **Arc 1: Arrival**

The teenage Uzumaki and Uchiha were in extreme disbelief, they were seeing a place that should have been completely obliterated. But here it was, welcoming them with open arms. The huge green wooden gates with the village symbol in the middle send a message to anyone that the place is full of opportunity and hope.

As the wagon finally stopped its tracks. Tazuna observed the place that had not seen in years. He did have to admit that the place was quite different the last time he saw it. But still, it was Konoha.

"Alright, looks like we arrived at our destination kids." Tazuna informed them.

"Man, I can't wait to explore the whole place and see Naruto-san again!" Inari said excitedly. This was his first time here, so he was naturally curious.

He can't wait to see the Shinobi of this village, the ninja academy, The Hokage mountain and maybe even the Hokage herself. There was so much to see, as if this place was a major tourist destination hub. No wonder this place looked so awesome.

Tazuna sighed. "Just calm down Inari, you should better check the kids on the back." He suggested to the boy. They were going to have to go through the two chunin at the guard house for inspection before they were allowed to enter the village.

Inari nodded and went to the back of the wagon to check on the rest.

* * *

 **(THOUGHTS)**

During that time, The teenage blonde and raven haired girl sat in their respective seats. It was just silence inside except for the occasional small snoring of the midnight haired Uzumaki girl. Both were looking at blank space as if they were deep in thought.

Boruto stared, darting his eyes towards his sleeping little sister. He sighed as he thought about what he was going to have to do with her while she was still in this state. There were choices and options that were going around inside his mind. At least two options. One is that they should go to the Hokage building immediately, and have an important talk with the Hokage. Although, that would be the most absurd thing to do as they were just travelers from a different era and arranging an immediate meeting with her wouldn't be very easy. The second is that they should find a place to stay to rest and recover for the time being, which was in hindsight the more sensible option.

With his mind set on what to do next, he also wanted to explore some of the problems that he had to face on the way. One being his uncanny resemblance to his father, the blonde hair, whisker marks and cerulean eyes. He's sure that he will be mistaken for his father. Another thing is the tattered clothes that he had right now, not only were they uncomfortable, but all the tears may cause some unwanted attention.

Boruto then darted his eyes towards the Uchiha. She was silent yet again as she was in her thoughts. He couldn't help but wonder what she was thinking. Perhaps it was about seeing her home and family again even if they wouldn't recognize her.

As for the blonde himself, he had to make a way and at least have a kind of different look for now so that he would not be mistaken for his dad. He observed the wagon's surroundings and finally saw a box of patches, masking tape, and a pair of scissors. He also noticed some clothes which were a black jacket and black jogging pants that were enough sizeable for him to fit.

Boruto smiled." Jackpot-ttebassa" He whispered as he went to get the things that he needed. Overall, it was going to be a slightly serious makeover for him.

As for Sarada Uchiha, she was just staring into space, deep in her thoughts. She wondered how the situation was going to turn out since they've arrived here already. Was she gonna see her mom again? But this time a different mom, which was gonna be her past self, since this was a time travel situation.

There were so many thoughts entering her mind at the same time.

* * *

 **(Interview)**

 **"I just really can't believed that we were in the past. It something that I didn't knew I would get involved to. All the familiar faces, especially Mama and Papa, There is a chance that I would seeing them again, but in different kind of form."**

 **-Sarada**

* * *

Sarada took a deep breath. She was going to make it through this no matter what. She was not a weakling inside, She had her mother's confidence and fire inside of her. She also thought of seeing her Papa again, although she was not sure whether her Papa was still living in the village. There was a time when he left the village and didn't come back for another 3 years.

"Hey, Sarada-chan!" A familiar voice interrupted the Uchiha girl's thoughts as she looked up to see the new Boruto in front of her.

Sarada's eyes widened in surprise. She was staring at her teammate who had change his torned clothes into a new white t-shirt covered by a black hoodie jacket. He also had two separate white patches on both of his cheeks to cover his whisker-like marks.

"What's with the new look?" Sarada asked. She was a bit confused.

Boruto grinned." Well, I suspect that many will mistake me for my dad so I donned up this new look." He explained with confidence. He was feeling new again, inspired by a game called "Grand Theft Auto" that he used to play when he was still a kid.

He recalled that there was a feature there where he can diguised his character and so that gave him the idea of dressing up to his new look to also avoid suspicion.

"Oh, whatever." Sarada rolled her eyes. It was one her teammate's wildest ideas again.

Although, she had to admit that she was glad that his teammate reverted back to his old knucklehead self for the time being.

He also had point though, she really needed her own diguise as now. People would be freaking out if they saw the Uchiha crest on the back of her attire. Yet, the good news was that the symbol had faded due to some events that had transpired back home. Mainly because that dirt and dust played a major factor.

The Uchiha girl gave a sigh, she was going to go through without a disguise so far.

At the same time, Inari entered the scene.

"Hey guys, There is gonna be a inspection for awhile so hang on tight." Inari informed the rest. He would always would warned people whenever there will be an inspection. To him, guards were very strict and they were often tough to engaged in a conversation with.

"Oh okay then, Thank you for informing us Inari, We'll be ready." Boruto replied back with a nod and a smile.

Inari nodded but when he was about to go outside, the boy also noticed the blonde's new look." Hey, awesome look by the way!" Inari pointed his index finger and gave his own comment before returning back to the front seat of the wagon.

Boruto smiled." Yeah, thank you very much." He thanked the latter before turning his direction to the raven haired girl and gave her a goofy look.

Sarada could only sighed back and shook her head.

"Oh knucklehead." She rolled her eyes and muttered to aloud.

There was something about that signature Uzumaki smile. It would often light up any person's mood and her blonde teammate was the best in showing the smile. Somehow, she was glad to be seeing that smile in front of her despite the fact that he was an idiot.

* * *

 **(Interview)**

 **" I wasn't sure if I was going to cry or not. The trauma of war and death was still there yet I really could not feel it since He started talking."**

 **-Sarada**

* * *

 **(LATER ON)**

The inspection wasn't that strict as they were expecting. The two guards who were on duty today turned out to be Izumo and Kotetsu, the duo immediately recognized them as two guys were known for being the nicest Shinobi guards back home. They were the heads of the guard division, who change the system as they ease out the very brutal and strict way of inspection.

However, in this time, they were just humble Shinobi guards, who only dream of making it to the top.

Boruto and Sarada found themselves standing outside of the wagon as they watched and observed the wagon being inspected while Tazuna and Inari assisted them, guiding them to the different areas of the transportation.

The inspection was process didn't took long. It was a good thing that they didn't bother the blonde's little sister, who was still in her slumber. After several minutes, the whole thing was done.

"Well, looks like your cleared to enter the village." Izumo informed the rest as he held his clipboard and pen. Engaging a conversation with the old man, he gave them a clearance pass, which was already signed by the Hokage.

Tazuna gladly accepted the pass." Thank you very much! It's great to see you again Izumo!" He replied back.

"It's good to see you again, Tazuna-san." Izumo replied back with a smile, before darting his eyes towards a certain kid." Looks like you brought someone with you." He added.

Tazuna smiled." Yes! This is Inari, My grandson!" He said while formally introducing the kid." He's following the footsteps as a master carpenter." He added the additional information.

As for Inari, he just gave simple peace sign and blurted out his usual greet phrase." Hey what's up!"

Izumo nodded in understanding." Nice to meet you!" He said before turning his attention towards the two new faces, to which he hadn't seen before.

"What about them?" He asked.

Tazuna was about to reply back when he was suddenly beaten to it by his grandson.

"Oh! There are my friends back in our village! They wanted to come along so, I brought them here with me!" Inari blurted out a simple background story for the two.

Izumo nodded in understanding but there was a small confusion and a concern that took over as he observed the duo." Oh I see!" He said." Are they okay? They looked really exhausted and tired." He added.

Tazuna was about to speak up, although he was beaten once again by the ever idealistic grandson of his.

"Well, there was one time that the Wagon had tough time crossing a river and we really had to-" A surprised Inari and his story was cut this time as he found his mouth being covered by his old man.

"It's their first time travelling across the countryside." The old man gave a force smile while struggling to cover the talkative mouth of his grandson.

"Enough with the stories young man!" He secretly whispered to the kid, who looked like he was going to explode.

Izumo had a sweat dropped. He didn't knew what to say right now as he just watched both grandfather and grandson argue with each other.

* * *

 **(MEANWHILE)**

"So what brings you here to Konoha?"

Kotetsu asked the first question. It was a protocol or part of the inspection process for them to give the travellers a little interview before letting them continue on towards the main village.

"I apologized for this little interview, It's a part of our protocol." He immediately went on to apologized to the two with a very humble and guilty expression

Boruto and Sarada simply smiled. They both understand what he mean't and they were willing to cooperate and respect their rules and protocols.

"It's alright!" The blonde replied back." We've been through into this kind of process before." He said, before getting straight to the point.

"Well, My name is Bolt and this is my lovely and scary childhood friend, Sarada." He officially introduced themselves to the nice guard, before being pinched by the raven haired teen on his arm.

"Hey! that hurt ya know!" He protested.

"Say scary again and I'll pinch in the nose." Sarada replied back with a sarcastic threat. She gave a pinching sign right in front of her teammate while giving a playful evil smile while her glasses gave out a shine.

These creeped out Boruto, who raised both his hands in surrender." Okay Okay! You win!" He quickly said.

Sarada gave out a victorious smile while folding her arms around her chest much to the annoyed reaction of her blonde teammate which followed after that.

As for Kotetsu, He was just giving them the awkward stare. It seemed that he finally realized that these two were the most lovely dovely visitors that he had met so far and it was somehow a good thing since he also wanted to ask if they were a couple but eventually didn't dwell in that side.

He was also not sure whether to continue the interview since, they were good people anyway.

"Uhmm, Excuse me." The man cleared his throat to get the attention back to him.

"Alright, so who's the girl sleeping inside the wagon?" He asked the second question.

Boruto quickly raised his hand." Well, that would be my sweet little sister, Himawari." He replied back with a smile." She's exhausted from the journey as well." He added.

Kotetsu simply nodded as he wrote something on the clipboard." Oh well, I guess this interview is now concluded." He said before looking up and giving them a smile.

"I hope you guys enjoy your visit!" He said as he extended his right hand to the two.

Boruto and Sarada both accepted it as they both shook hands with the man. It was a sign that they were welcome here and the only thing that they needed to do is to find their way towards the village.

"Thank you!" Sarada spoke this time." I hope you guys are enjoying your jobs." She commented.

Kotetsu gave a slight chuckle, the man was amused. In fact he was flattered to see that these people appreciated on what they were doing." No problem! We actually wanted to make the process easier and lighter." He explained.

"Oh I see." Boruto said.

Kotetsu scratched his chin." Maybe, when we get promoted in the future then we can implement a more hospitable way of welcoming visitors." He smiled, finally sharing a dream that he would like to achieve someday.

Boruto and Sarada nodded in understanding. They were really not expecting this level of humbleness from him. The humbleness that would promote them to their current positions in the future.

"Don't worry, You'll be promote someday."

These were the last words that Boruto gave before He and the rest continue on with the the journey.

* * *

 **(THE STREETS)**

Moving on with their journey, Inari was feeling like a tourist and was also awestruck by every area they passed in the village. It was like already a city for him. He was used to always seeing the old hillbilly life in his village, but this was different from what he was seeing now.

"You've got to be kidding me Gramps, This is Konoha!?" Inari excitedly said to his grandpa Tazuna.

Tazuna could only sighed on his grandson. "Yes Inari, It's very different compared back home." He replied.

Inari just couldn't over the hype that he was feeling right now. He also thought of exploring the whole village all day but since his grandfather had some appointments, he was unable to do so.

Although, Inari's main goal was to see his idol and he was going to stick to the plan somehow. He was not even sure where he lived here. This was definitely a big place to find him, one would need a guide to help someone his or her destination here.

As Inari was sightseeing his surroundings, he suddenly felt a rumbling in his belly.

"Urgh..." Inari groaned, as he had just realized he was very hungry.

His grandfather having noticed this just smiled at him." Inari, I know a place where we can eat delicious ramen." Tazuna suggested as once a blonde boy took him to that place for a treat to eat and he didn't regret it.

Inari was puzzled. " Ramen huh?"

* * *

 **(MEANWHILE)**

Boruto observed the streets of village they passed through the back of the wagon. He was seeing shops, houses and other establishments, fully alive and breathing. He found it strange to see them in their prime state contrast to several hours ago where he witnessed them being burned and razed to the ground, accompanied by the screams of innocent civilians.

He shook his head to bring himself away from those particular thoughts.

"I never thought that I would come back to see these place alive again." Boruto sighed. It was surreal for him as if like he was given a second chance.

On the other hand, Sarada was also doing the same thing as the blonde. She was both reminiscing about and observing the village she called home. She even recognized a shop that her Mama would take her to when she was a kid back home.

She was really enjoying every area they passed. It was like a trip down memory lane. Whoever is responsible for sending them back in time, he or she would be showered with blessings as this was a BLESSING for her and her blonde teammate.

"Time travel, I never thought you can make me this relaxed and happy." She commented inside her mind. Things that her parents would tell stories about time travel. It was just another fairy tale to her and was impossible in real life. Although, she was able to time travel with her friends. How did that sound?

And then a thought came to her mind. What if she met her Mama and Papa's past self here? What was she going to do? She was so unsure of what to do if they met, or considering her luck when they met. She doesn't know the situation of her Mama and Papa's past self yet.

"Sarada-chan." A familiar voice then interrupted her thoughts yet again. She looked up to see her Uzumaki friend giving her a small concerned look. "Are you alright?"

Sarada smiled. "Yeah, I'm fine. So, what's new so far for you?" Sarada asked as she followed up a question to her blonde teammate.

Boruto chuckled." Well, I'm not used to seeing the Hokage mountain with five heads ya know." He explained. It was true, He grew up seeing the mountain with seven and it was weird for him to see it minus the additional two heads.

Sarada smiled." Oh come on now, if you cared about that mountain as much as you say you do you wouldn't vandalize it as much as you do." She said jokingly.

"Hey, cut me some slack." Boruto said "My dad did it too when he was a kid so I'm just keeping up the family tradition."

"You sure? Last time I heard, you were made to clean up all the paint." Sarada said smugly.

Boruto shrugged "As I said keeping the family tradition. Besides I got to be on the Headline news."

 **"Breaking news: The Awesome Boruto Uzumaki added new makeover to the Hokage faces to make it appealing to masses of awesomeness."** Boruto acted out as if he was a newscaster.

This also made the Uchiha girl laughed out loud for the first time. She hadn't heard a joke for a while now and it was really time to have fun now. She was so glad and lucky that she had the blond knucklehead jokester with her. She then looked at her teammate mischievously. "You know, I remember reading a different story."

"Hehehe" Boruto laughed nervously "Is that so?"

Sarada then stood up and pretended to hold a microphone " **Breaking News: local idiot defaces mountain**."

Boruto laughed. "Oh come on Sarada, that was unnecessary." His voice slowly changing into embarrassment.

"No if I don't correct you you'll start to get a big head. A bigger head." Sarada corrected smirking. How she really liked debating with him, even the smallest things.

Boruto sighed, He didn't want to continue the debate and he looked forward to a new topic, which was more realistic. "But joking aside to be honest, when all of this is over, I think we should settle here and start over again."

Sarada was a bit bewildered. Why would he want to stay here in the past? Does he even belong here? They were strangers in a different era. She also wondered if they would be even welcomed here fully.

"What I mean't is that after this long process of settling down, I wanna start fresh again." He explained." Far away from the...well you know."

Sarada gave a sad look. She was beginning to understand what her teammate was trying to tell her and she respected that.

* * *

 **(Interview)**

 **"We all went through tragedy during that time and I guess Boruto had a point when he said that he wanted to start a new life again.**

 **-Sarada**

* * *

Boruto sighed yet again." Well, it's just an idea that I thought of." He explained as he rested his back on the wooden wall of the wagon.

"Living a peaceful and uninterrupted life is a thing that I want to strive for now." Boruto explained. He was eager to live an uneventful life far away from the clutches of war and destruction.

"Himawari would be happy to see mom and dad again. Maybe Uncle Neji too." The blonde added. To be honest, the two siblings had not met their Uncle Neji, but they had heard that he was a great person and a great family member.

"I guess you'll be happy to see your mom and dad too!" He added with a smile." Well, I mean their younger selves to be exact."

Sarada gave a small smile as she stared at the blank space. "I don't know. I hope I'll see Mama around. But I'm pretty sure Papa was away from the village during this time. I wonder how old they are now?"

Boruto gave a shrugged." Well, maybe they're the same age as ours." He explained." Considering the fact that there are five heads, which means this was Granny Tsunade's time as the Hokage."

Speaking of the blonde haired woman, That's it! Tsunade could help them, and she was the Hokage! No one would there question her authority except for her enemies but, she was the real deal!

Well, if there's one person we can trust with the information of us being from the future it's the Hokage. I have some ties with her, so maybe I can pull some strings since I am a part of the family and we are distant relatives."

"That's a bad plan, Boruto." Sarada shook her head. "You're forgetting that Lady Tsunade doesn't know who you are yet. And remember how much you look exactly like Lord Seventh at this age. She'll think it's some kind of prank. We need to get some proof we are who we say we are."

Boruto nodded. Sarada's plan sounded a lot smarter than his.

"And we need to think about what we are going to do with Himawari." Sarada reminded him. "Seriously, how much can that girl sleep?" She looked amazed at Himawari's snooze prowess.

Boruto shrugged. "It must be the aftereffect of the destruction. She fought a lot. Saw a lot of deaths as well. I think she's as exhausted mentally as she is physically.".

There was silence that took over. They weren't sure when will the Uzumaki girl regain her consciousness. Although, the only thing that they can do is to prepare themselves.

At the same time, doubts and problems had entered the conversation.

Sarada simply nodded." So how could we really live a peaceful and uneventful life from now on?" She asked "I mean what if Kawaki is here too and is looking for us. Not to mention this is most likely before the fourth world war."

Silence had taken over for a brief moment.

As Boruto wondered what the latter had said to him. Could they make sure they will be living a life full of peace from now on? This was not an easy thing to do. Since there is a possibility that Kawaki is here in the past since that explosion also engulfed him.

There was a choice that he had to make, he knew that the past will catch up to them no matter what. There are enemies everywhere, the blonde had to make sure that they will have to be careful in order to survive. He would have to prepare himself for future situations that can be deemed dangerous. He was already planning some ways for them recover and gain their Shinobi strength back.

* * *

 **(Interview)**

 **"We really had to go back to the basics in order to survive and this was just the start."**

 **-Boruto**

* * *

At the same time, the wagon stopped its tracks which broke the silence, surprising Boruto and Sarada. A few moments later, Inari came into the scene clearly excited.

"Hey guys, we will stopping at a ramen shop to eat for a while." He informed them.

Boruto and Sarada glanced at each other with both confusion in their faces.

"A ramen shop?" Sarada asked. It really sounded so familiar to her.

Inari nodded." Yeah, Ichiraku's ramen shop to be exact." He explained before leaving the area. He didn't give much information.

Boruto gave a look to his teammate. "Well, might as well enjoy the ramen at my dad's favorite shop." He said, giving a grin and showing his excitement.

For a few moments, Sarada just stared at the blonde before blinking a couple of times and then snapping back to reality. "Yeah, that sounds like it would be fun."

* * *

 **(NEW FRIENDS)**

Ichiraku's ramen shop was a famous ramen shop located on one of the busy streets of the village. The shop was a bit messy after a big tide of customers that swept the area like a storm. The crew arrived just in time to see the owner and his daughter cleaning the long table from the empty bowls left by the customers.

"Looks like they're still going strong." Tazuna commented as he was the first one to enter and lift the banners.

The daughter of the owner, Ayame took noticed of the new customers and called her father. "Hey dad, we got customers again." She said, which immediately alerted the big middle aged man.

When the owner of the ramen shop, Teuchi was greeted by surprised when he noticed a familiar face which turned out to be an old friend from the mist.

"Tazuna? is that really you?" He asked as he didn't recognize the face but as the old man got a closer look, it was really his old friend accompanied by his grandson.

"Long time no see my friend!" A happy and surprised Ichiraku greeted his old friend as the two shook hands as a sign of greeting.

"Yeah, it's been years, but I finally got a chance to visit here again." Tazuna explained. He also explained that he had an appointment in the village.

"Oh, and this is your grandson?" Teuchi asked as he was referring to the boy beside the latter.

"Hello sir!" Inari greeted with respect.

"He's a young man already!" Teuchi commented accompanied by a few chuckles.

"Yes, He is training to be a master builder under my guidance." Tazuna explained.

"That's great! Wish your boy the best of luck!" Teuchi complimented.

Tazuna smiled." Thank you." Then after a few moments later, He remembered his purpose to treat the guys lunch here.

"Well to put aside, we'll ordering four bowls of your delicious ramen." Tazuna said.

"Miso?" Teuchi asked.

"You know me well." Tazuna grinned.

Ichiraku smiled "Alright, four Bowls of Miso Ramen coming right up." He said as he instructed his daughter to prepare the bowls for them.

Then a curious thought came to the daughter of the ramen shop owner, named Ayame. "Excuse me but I was just wondering but you just ordered 4 bowls. Are there more people with you guys?" A curious Ayame asked.

Coincidentally right after she asked the question, that Sarada and Boruto entered the shop and were greeted with a delicious tempting smell of the ramen.

"Yum, I can't wait Dattebasa!" Boruto excitedly expressed his eagerness to eat his lunch here while Sarada could only sigh and shake her head.

The presence of the newcomers alerted Ayame as she proceeded to greet them, not knowing that she was in for a surprise.

Welcome!" Ayame greeted them as they took a seat on the bar stools. "What would you like to- eh? Naruto?!" She yelled when her eyes landed on Boruto.

Teuchi, who had gone back to the kitchen, appeared next to her and stared at Boruto as well, both too shocked to act.

Boruto internally sighed. He knew his similarity to his father would cause problems. He'd have to take care of that soon.

"I'm sorry ma'am, but my name is Boruto, not Naruto. You must be confusing me with someone else."

Tazuna then came into the mix as he proceeded to clarify the confusion.

"Oh, I'm sorry, I forgot. This is Bolt and Sarada, they're the ones who will be having the other two orders. He explained." They are also from another small village faraway from here." He added.

"Hello." Sarada said politely

Boruto, less bashful, grinned widely "Hey there!"

S-sorry about that," Ayame apologized, still staring at his face. "You just look so much like one of our customers, it's almost uncanny!"

Boruto waved her off, feeling a tad uncomfortable. He did have a scar on his right eye, right? He wasn't imagining that? Sure, they both had blonde hair and blue eyes, but that's where it ended, right? Those people were acting like blue-eyed blondes were a rare thing!

Teuchi then smiled. "Well then, nice meeting you two! Enjoy your lunch then!"

* * *

 **(LATER ON)**

As noon went by, lunch time passed as they ate their ramen. There was nothing but conversations and stories, with everyone finally getting to know each other.

"So what brought you here to the village?" Ayame had asked the first question. She along with her father were eager to know more about the two.

Sarada took a deep breath as she opened her mouth to speak." Well, we were actually moving out since things back home were kind of hectic." She explained. She was having a hard time giving them a background story.

"Our village has been destroyed by bandits," Boruto intervened.

Ayame gasped, and Teuchi and Tazuna shifted uncomfortably while Inari stayed silent.

"Me and Sarada, as well as my little sister, are the only survivors. Everyone else was killed by the raiders. We tried fight them, but they knocked out Sarada and my sister, Himawari. We barely escaped. I carried them both on my back. Eventually, we ran into you when you were being robbed by those bandits and the rest is history. Although, my little sister still hasn't woken up yet. " He explained in careful detail. It was all the truth coming out from his mouth.

Sympathy and comfort from Ayame and Teuchi washed over them like waves. Ayame looked at them with sadness in her eyes.

"Oh, you poor things!" She looked like she wanted to jump over the counter and hug them. Boruto appreciated that she held back; he wasn't much of a hugging person.

"It's alright. You don't have to worry about us."

"You should definitely talk to the Hokage. I'm sure she'll let you stay in the village if you just asked her" Teuchi recommended them as he placed their bowls of ramen on the counter. "And then if you ever wanted ramen you could come here and I'll serve it to you for free!"

Boruto nodded. "Thank you. And about talking to the Hokage, believe me, that's on top of my to-do list." He gave them small grin.

Both Ayame and Teuchi felt surreal. They haven't seen a grin like that since their patron had left the village for his training trip. Other than that, they were glad to help these two. .

Boruto and Sarada were surprised by the the old man's statement but they were glad they were welcomed here as family and not some strangers or outcasts.

"Thank you." Sarada said politely 'Maybe we can really start our lives again here.' She thought as she darted her eyes towards her blonde teammate and secretly gave him a smile.

* * *

 **(Interview)**

 **"Our Hopes were pretty much back already, The encouragement that Ayame-san and Teuchi-san gave us. They were really nicest persons that we ever met, during the time we arrived here."**

 **-Sarada**

 **"Old man Teuchi, He is like the father figure of the Ramen Shop. I can't even count the number of advices that he gave to us.( Chuckles)**

 **-Boruto**

* * *

 **(LATER ON)**

As the lunch time at the ramen shop had come to an end, Boruto and Sarada had built a new friendship with the owner and daughter.

When the teenage Uzumaki and Uchiha got out of the shop, they felt a new sense of beginning to them as if they were reborn. A fresh of breath air.

Boruto stared at the blue sky. "You know Sarada-chan, I have a feeling that this will be a very promising start for us." The blonde commented as he gave a yawn, inhaling the fresh air.

Sarada smiled. "Well, I guess you're right. Although, we need to talk to Granny Tsunade first and convince her that we are really from the future." Sarada added. If they were going to live here, they should be tackling the challenges and obstacles here first before reaching that goal.

"I'll get Hima, and then we can go." Boruto hoped that the Hokage would take a look at Himawari as well. Not that he didn't trust Sarada's judgment, but when presented with the opportunity to have the world's best medic have a look, one wouldn't turn it down.

Climbing up to the wagon, he rubbed his head and looked around. Something did not feel right. Blinking, he noticed the thin blanket the covered Himawari lacked one lavender-haired girl underneath it. Himawari was not in the wagon

"What the..." Boruto trailed as he scratched his head.

He searched every area inside the wagon and still he couldn't find any trace of his little sister. "This is impossible! She must be here!" He commented.

"What happened here!?" Sarada came into mix asked. Her eyes being greeted by the site of an empty sleeping bag.

As for Boruto, He bolted out of the wagon and into the street, scanning the faces of everyone around them.

Himawari wasn't in the crowd.

"You've got to be a kidding me, Dattebasa!," He muttered aloud in frustration." Where the heck had she gone to!?"

"That's impossible! She was in a very deep sleep." Sarada added as concern and worriedness took over the two again.

Thoughts were telling them that the Uzumaki girl could either been kidnapped or simply had just woken up and wandered into some place.

"Please, don't tell me we have kidnapped time traveller here." Sarada commented. It would be a really bad scene if the girl woke up into a place to which she doesn't know.

Meanwhile, as Tazuna and Inari got out of the ramen shop. they were greeted by a worried and concerned blonde and a worried yet calm Uchiha girl.

"What's seems to be the problem here?" Tazuna asked, much to the confusion of his grandson.

There was silence that took over a few brief moments before the two broke it at once.

"Himawari is Missing."

* * *

 **(Interview)**

 **"When things were getting better, now that another problem has entered the situation without our knowledge**.

 **-Boruto**

* * *

 **(MEANWHILE)**

The Uzumaki girl felt dizzy and tired. She was disoriented, and not sure what to do right now. When she woke up in a random wagon, she wondered where she was until the psychological effect of waking up in a strange place took over. Nevertheless, she attempted to escape.

She now had found herself in a place that she didn't recognize, wandering along streets that she had not seen before.

"Where am I?" She muttered and kept asking herself. Where was she exactly? She did not know what to do right now or what to think right now. She was lost, like a little girl.

She was walking for a long time and didn't knew where to go to the point that she had took herself into different areas of this big village. Until she stumbled upon an area which looked to be a like a community.

There was a big house that she saw, and she became bewildered. Wondering, what kind of place this is? It was beautiful and yet so familiar, but so different.

She noticed a big, shady tree at a playground nearby. She stumbled to it, barely managing to walk anymore. She felt ever dizzier, and her vision got blurrier. She sighed in relief before collapsing to the ground, unconscious. The leaves from the tree twirled in the air as they fell and coated the girl's hair, that already had a small sunflower tucked in it. A few other leaves fell from one of the branches..

For Himawari, She did not know that she was in for a surprise. The big house that was near the playground and tree had a sign on it which read to be none other than the famous Hyuuga Compound.

* * *

 **CHAPTER END**

 **Author's note: Thank you for reading the chapter**


	7. Arc 1: Small Reunions 1

**Disclaimer:**

 **I don't own Naruto. Kishimoto Does.**

 **Author's note: Hey there Readers! I'm back with a new chapter! This one is bit short. Hope you guys enjoy.**

 **Also regarding about the previous chapter, I decided to add a few additions and few edits to improve the chapter.**

 **Alpha Reader: Vapor0907 and fiddlestickz**

* * *

 **Arc 1: Small Reunions**

Himawari felt dizzy and tired. She was disoriented, and not sure what to do right now. When she woke up in a random wagon, she wondered where she was until the psychological effect of waking up in a strange place took over. Nevertheless, she attempted to escape.

She now had found herself in a place that she didn't recognize, wandering along streets that she had not seen before.

"Where am I?" She muttered and kept asking herself. Where was she exactly? She did not know what to do right now or what to think right now. She was lost, like a little girl.

She was walking for a long time and didn't knew where to go to the point that she had took herself into different areas of this big village. Until she stumbled upon an area which looked to be a like a community.

There was a big house that she saw, and she became bewildered. Wondering, what kind of place this is? It was beautiful and yet so familiar, but so different.

She noticed a big, shady tree at a playground nearby. She stumbled to it, barely managing to walk anymore. She felt ever dizzier, and her vision got blurrier. She sighed in relief before collapsing to the ground, unconscious. The leaves from the tree twirled in the air as they fell and coated the girl's hair, that already had a small sunflower tucked in it. A few other leaves fell from one of the branches..

For Himawari, She did not know that she was in for a surprise. The big house that was near the playground and tree had a sign on it which read to be none other than the famous Hyuuga Compound.

* * *

 **(MEANWHILE)**

Neji groaned. He still couldn't believe it.

Apparently, he was going to be involved in one of his team's 'youthful' team-building games again. All organized by, of course, Might Guy, their very eccentric sensei who practically worships speed and stamina.

He didn't want to do it. Sure, he had participated in previous games, but how long are they going to continue this? Is this going to be annual thing from now on? He hoped not.

Sometimes this team was overwhelming to Neji, but at the time he joined, he didn't have much of a choice. There simply weren't that many options available at the time. Team Guy formed a year before the other main Konoha teams came into existence.

Team Guy specialize in close-quarters combat, making it much more physically demanding to train than other teams. However, because of this, each of the members are highly skilled in taijutsu or some form similar.

Their team was regarded as one of the most respected teams in the village, earning their title with each consecutive successful mission.

Neji was lucky to have such dedicated teammates, such as Rock Lee, who was a legendary user of taijutsu, and Tenten, an incredible weapons expert.

He was incredibly proud of his team. Each member has worked hard to earn their spot.

All that being said, their enthusiasm — specifically two particular people's enthusiasm — could be a bit... excessive. These constant activities and the over-the-top trainings games, like the one going on right now, seemed extremely unnecessary to Neji.

For this game, Guy-sensei assembled a large flock of chickens, which were to be released in the training field. They had to chase the feathered demons, and return them to their cages in a matter of minutes.

Lee determinedly decided that if he couldn't do it, which he undoubtably can, he'd run 3000 laps around the village; which sounds ridiculous, but then again, this is Lee we're talking about here. This isn't the most outrageous challenge he has issued on himself.

The whole game, Neji thought, was an absolutely absurd idea, but he didn't have much of a choice other to trust his sensei.

Even though he would much prefer to be home, tending to his garden right now, he was committed to his team, and would remain loyal to it. Neji has never missed a team meeting, and wasn't planning on breaking his record.

A feat Lee hasn't even managed to do. But, to Lee's credit, being in the hospital was a pretty reasonable reason to miss out on training.

Neji sighed quietly to himself. This was going to be a long day, wasn't it? Maybe he should take his bushy-browed teammate's advice.

"Be youthful and enjoy every single activity to the fullest!" Lee had told him.

A very 'youthful' piece of advice, indeed.

After hours of catching chickens, Neji collapsed onto the nearby bench, trying to catch his breath. He looked as if someone had dumped three buckets of water on him. Much to Neji's embarrassment, his teammates were not nearly as sweaty as he was, nearly dry in fact.

After two grueling hours of catching chickens, Neji found himself feeling defeated and mildly embarrassed. He had hoped he would never meet an animal as evil as Tora, but those demonic clucking beasts came in as a close second to that devil cat.

Some of the damn birds even tried surprising him by pulling disgusting pranks on him. Like throwing their own eggs at him, or purposely leading him into a mud puddle, and laughed when he fell on his face. He wanted nothing more than a hot shower.

The brown-haired Hyuuga looked up, watching the rest of his team still trying to round up the feathered demons. Of course, Rock Lee was in great shape, and didn't look tired at all. Tenten remained calm and relaxed as she continued to set up traps, which lured the chickens back into the cage.

Neji's eyes darted over to his sensei who, like him, was watching the whole training scene before them unfold. Their sensei was trying to motivate them by yelling out inspiring quotes, which mostly included the words "Faster" and "Speed".

The brown-haired Hyuuga looked down at the ground. He just couldn't do it anymore. He wasn't use to this kind of training. All he needed right now was a drink of water, but Lee had knocked it over by accident.

"Damn it, Lee." He muttered quietly to himself. He really liked his team, but sometimes his teammate's lack of awareness really got on his nerves.

* * *

 **(Interview)**

 **" For those people, who don't know me yet, I'm Neji Hyuuga, Neji for short and I wasn't expecting my life to be like this. Yet, I'm still here which is weird."**

 **-Neji**

* * *

Just as Neji began to close his eyes, he noticed the silhouette of a girl walking towards him. A few seconds later, the girl's familiar voice interrupted his rest.

The brown-haired Hyuuga looked up and saw a girl, maybe in her early twenties. She had short black hair, which framed her face in an asymmetrical bob with the front bangs reaching just below her chin.

"Hanabi?" Neji muttered groggily. She looked blurry and unrecognizable to him due to his exhaustion, but he was able to recognize her voice.

When his vision began to clear, he was able to see his younger cousin more clearly. She wore a slightly modified version of her usual outfit. Wearing a tan vest-jacket, and white wristbands on both hands. She wore shinobi sandals with white bands tied around her ankles.

"What's up, cousin?" The young girl greeted him with a pleasant smile.

Neji rubbed his forehead. Shouldn't she be training right now? Or have better something to do, rather than seeing him in this pitiful state? He didn't want her to see him like this. Just as he was about to ask her what she was doing here, she beat him to it.

"I figured that I should bring you something to drink," Hanabi explained. She took out two water bottles from the plastic bag she was carrying.

She assumed her older cousin would be breaking his back trying to catch chickens today. Hanabi handed a full water bottle over to her big cousin, who can barely even reach the bottle with his hands.

As soon as Neji grabbed the bottle of water, he hastily opened the bottle and put it in his mouth. He chugged the bottle without any reserves, very unusual from how he normally drinks. But now, he didn't care about other people looking at him, he was just so damn thirsty.

Hanabi rolled her eyes at her cousin. She wasn't sure what to do after her training, so she had come to check up on him, and see if he was doing well. Upon looking at him, it was obvious he was not well.

"You know what, Neji? I think you owe me some ice cream after this." She spoke with a smirk.

"Why should I have to pay? You're the only one who wants ice cream," Neji sighed.

"Well, I did buy you some water. It's only fair that you buy me something in return," Hanabi said innocently. Neji shook his head, like he couldn't believe he was actually agreeing to this.

"Alright, fine. I'll buy you some after training is over." He gave in.

"Hooray!" Hanabi cheered victoriously, "Thanks a bunch, Neji!"

When the training-game ended after what felt like weeks, Neji was grateful. He was finally allowed the freedom of going home.

Of course, not without buying some ice cream for his manipulative little cousin. But, truth to be told, this was the first time Hanabi invited him to go get ice cream with her, so he was a little more than willing to give in to her demands so he could spend a little time with her.

* * *

 **(Interview)**

 **" Hello there! My name is Hanabi Hyuuga and I'm Neji's cousin. My life right now is perfect since I got a nice cousin, who'll treat me for some nice cold ice cream" (Chuckles and gives a peace sign)**

 **-Hanabi**

 **"You've got to be kidding me." (Sighs and Shakes his head)**

 **-Neji**

* * *

 **(MEANWHILE)**

Boruto scratched the back of his head, staring at the wagon disbelievingly. How the heck did his little sister wake up and escape? She was obviously unconscious just a few minutes earlier. The whole thing was confusing, and they didn't have time to deal with this.

Sarada had deduced that the young Uzumaki girl had somehow woken up disorientated and confused. Scared and alone, she escaped, and most likely was lost. Her theory made the most sense to everyone.

Inari and Tazuna were also worried. They didn't know who she was, but they decided to stay and assist them on finding the missing girl.

"Boruto, can you create shadow clones? Have your Chakra levels recovered?" Sarada asked. To which Boruto nodded.

"Yeah, I think so," Forming a familiar handsign, three copies of himself appeared in front of them moments later via a puff of smoke.

The blonde instructed the clones to search for Himawari in the vast village. The clones nodded, and they headed off in every direction.

For Boruto and Sarada, they proceeded to search for the missing girl by foot. Sarada used her Sharingan to track her down as soon as possible. The village was a big place. It would not be easy to find Himawari

* * *

 **(DISCOVERY)**

"Yum! I really missed eating ice cream!" Hanabi commented whilst turning the cone around, looking for the best bite to take.

She's usually stuck in the house or at training grounds all day, and was sick of it. Some days she skipped classes just to have a moment of fun like this.

After buying the ice cream at the local convenience store, the two Hyuugas headed for the local park which wasn't too far away.

While strolling around the park near the Hyuuga compound, the two decided to spend the time talking and eating.

"So, how's training so far?" Neji asked. Hanabi was taking special training lessons with her father, Hiashi.

"Same old stuff," She simply said with a shrug. Her father loved to follow tradition.

He was a very strict person, who was brought up from a strict upbringing, whose father was also raised strictly, and so on. It was a generational tradition of the Hyuuga clan.

Honestly, Hanabi was becoming exhausted of the traditional upbringing in their family. She was always forced to act as a different person around her family, and she can only truly be herself with her friends or with Neji.

"Well, I guess he won't be changing any time soon." He casually commented as licked his ice cream. There was very little chance Hiashi would ever change anything, especially anything regarding his personality.

He still remembered how the very strict upbringing had affected his elder cousin, instead of motivating her, it only served to degrade her confidence. Neji and Hanabi were witnesses.

Neji expression fell at the memory. He still blamed himself for being ignorant and careless towards Hinata when they were still kids.

Despite their controversial family issues, he was given an opportunity to establish a relationship with his older cousin when they were younger, but he didn't take it. Thanks to a certain blonde named 'Naruto', he realized his error. But no matter how much he wanted to, he can't go back in time and change his past behavior.

Meanwhile, Hanabi had noticed her cousin's troubled expression.

"Hey, what's wrong?" The brown-haired Hyuuga just kept silent.

"Is it about my big sister?" Hanabi hesitantly asked.

She had already come to that conclusion before asking, but had difficulting forcing the words out. Neji could only nod shamefully.

The short black-haired girl sighed, "I know what it feels like, I stopped believing in her. It's my fault, too."

There was once a time when both siblings were best friends. Hanabi had looked up to her, and was inspired by her.

However, things began to change when their mother died. As time passed, and both girls had to face the harsh reality of life, their relationship began to dwindle away piece by piece.

The pressure of becoming heiress took a toll on Hinata, affecting her confidence greatly. At the time, Hanabi has thought her sister was unfit for the role. She had thought she was too weak to lead.

Hanabi turned her head down, she was wrong. Now, she was just trying to make it up to her older sister. She regretted not being there for her during the difficult times they suffered through.

She then looked back up, and took a deep breath.

"If we could just go back, and change how we acted. Things would be so different. Who knows, she could've been right here enjoying ice cream with us," The brown-haired Hyuuga said, speaking his thoughts aloud.

Hanabi turned to her big cousin, "Well, I guess you're right, but we can't control time. We just have to deal with the outcome."

"If we can't, then we just have to make it up to her." Neji suggested with a smile. He paused before he spoke again, turning serious.

"If I had the chance to tell her now, I would tell her that I would protect her till the end," He said determinedly.

"Even if it costed me my life." He added solemnly, creating suspense in the air. Hanabi gave her big cousin a surprised, amused look.

"Are you sure of what you are saying?" She asked, to which the latter nodded.

Hanabi stared at him, wondering why he was so determined to protect his older cousin. Was this his way of making it up to her?

"Well, if you say so," Hanabi said with shrug, "I just want to fix our relationship. Maybe we can be as close as we were when we were younger, or have some semblance of what we used to have, anyway. I want to help Hinata get back on top."

She had resolved in her mind to show to her big sister how sorry she was, and that she was willing to help her for the rest of her life.

A serene quietness took over them yet again. Both in deep thoughts before Neji broke the silence.

"Speaking of Hinata, how is she?

"Well, I'm not really sure. All I know is she has been very busy lately. I think she's really focusing on her own team and stuff." Hanabi explained. Due to both sisters' training, they didn't have a lot of time to spend together to catch up on each other's lives.

"If I can recall, I think she went out this morning to the training grounds. She said she wanted to work on a jutsu that she's developing." She added.

Hinata was developing a jutsu? What kind? How would it work? Why hadn't she come to him for help?

Neji was a little bit shocked to hear that statement. Hinata would always come up to him for help, mostly regarding on the new Techniques being developed and He would really help her on that. He also felt sadness growing inside of him.

"Well, only one way to find out." Hanab simply said as she licked her ice cream.

They simply just had to ask her themselves if they wanted to know the reason.

For the remainder of their time in the park they sat in comfortable silence. Neither said a word, they merely kept each other's company. They enjoyed the soft breeze in the air, and the relaxing atmosphere.

When it was finally time to leave, the two took a shortcut located in the park. Luckily for them, it was Friday, so they didn't have to do anything other than relax and enjoy the rest of their day.

* * *

 **(Interview)**

 **"We both wanted to fix that family connection between us and my big sister. We were sick of this family feud and we wanted to change things for the better."**

 **-Hanabi**

* * *

As they headed home, they stumbled upon a certain small field near the compound, which had a playground area, and a large tree. It was where they used to play when they were kids.

"Hey, I remember this place!" Hanabi cheered exicitedly.

She immediately ran over to the swing set. After taking a seat, she started pumping her legs back and forth, each time going up higher and higher. She had forgotten how much fun swinging was. Hanabi laughed. Feeling like a kid again felt wonderful, so she was going to enjoy this moment for as long as she could.

"Hey, Neji! Wanna play?" Hanabi jokingly asked.

When he didn't respond, Hanabi gave him a confused look. The brown-haired Hyuuga was distracted by something else.

Hanabi looked in the direction he was staring in, and saw what appeared to be a girl laying on the ground near the tree. Shocked by the sight, the Hyuuga girl's eyes widened, and she rushed towards the unconscious girl.

Neji followed his cousin close behind. When they got there, Hanabi quickly checked to see if she was okay. She confirmed she was completely unconscious, but sustained injuries, in the form of small cuts and bruises.

Neji slid to his knees and gently picked up the girl's upper body into his arms. She was definitely unconscious and seemingly having passed out exactly under the tree. His fingers brushing her lavender-colored hair out of her face, he and Hanabi examined her face further. She had notable two whisker marks on each cheek, but overall her face was pretty cute. Her cheeks were puffed a little as she breathed slowly. Hanabi crouched down next to him and pulled out a handkerchief, wiping the filth off the girl's face with it. She examined the body of the girl and noticed the many bruises and cuts on her arms and legs.

"Should we take her to the hospital?" Neji asked.

"Yeah, definitely!." Hanabi said in agreement. These was a serious matter. They weren't medical professionals but based from what they are seeing right now, they needed to take mystery girl to the hospital.

Neji carried the unconscious girl slowly on his back as to not to injure her further, and the two headed to their destination.

Hanabi couldn't help but stare at the girl. She looked eerily familiar, and wondered if they met before. Surprised, Neji agreed, it felt like he had known this girl for a long time, despite having just seen her.

* * *

 **(Interview)**

 **"When we stumbled upon this injured girl, there was this strange feeling of concern and worry that overtook us.**

 **Neji**

 **"It's like somehow we've met this girl before, even though, it was the first time that we saw her lying under that lone tree.**

 **-Hanabi**

* * *

 **(MEANWHILE)**

What was expected to be an uneventful day, turned into an absolute nightmare for Boruto and Sarada. They've searched high and low for Himawari, who had vanished from the wagon they had left her in.

The two were deeply worried. Sarada, while not in any way related to Himawari, cared for the younger girl like a sister. However, her worries could not come anywhere near to what Boruto was feeling as Himawari's older brother.

It has been almost an hour. The two have broken into a sweat, and occasionally tears, many times during their search. In fact, the blonde at times thought he would never find his younger sister in the enormous village. But he stayed determined. He would not give up, no matter what happened, until he found her.

Sarada, on the other hand, tried to reason out what may have happened to the young Uzumaki girl. There were many potential answers, but she had limited herself to the two most plausible ones. Deciding to share her thoughts, she turned to face the blonde.

"Boruto," she called. The Uzumaki shot her a look full of stress. Focus, concentration, and thinly veiled anxiousness were present across his features.

"What is it, Sarada-chan?" He asked.

On the street they were searching on, it was becoming more and more crowded the longer they stood. It was becoming difficult to move. It wasn't long before they were surrounded by a sea of people.

"I think I know where Himawari is," Sarada explained loudly, trying to talk over the crowd, but was suddenly cut off by the arrival of Imari and Tazuna.

"Bolt-san! Sarada-san!" Inari exclaimed, as he and his grandfather arrived at the scene.

"Have you found your little sister yet?" Tazuna asked the blonde, to which Boruto only sadly shook his head.

"No, sir... we're still searching for her," he said, exhaustion present in his voice.

"I'm very sorry. I just parked the wagon and horse at the right place for a while," Tazuna sighed.

"Since the appointment starts later in the afternoon, we can still help you fellas on the search for your sister," Tazuna explained.

Speechless, Boruto could only nod. He quickly snapped to reality, and straightened up with a serious expression.

"Thank you, sir," he sincerely thanked the old man.

"Don't worry! We'll help find your sister!" Inari added cheerfully. The young boy was ready for another adventure, fueled by the two bowls of ramen he had eaten not too long ago.

Sarada decided it was time to finish what she was saying to the blonde, before he became distracted.

"Boruto," she called again, gaining his attention.

"There are two possible places Himawari could be right now," Sarada informed everyone before continuing.

"Since she was very disoriented, it is very likely she collapsed, which could've been anywhere, but—".

"It's likely someone took her," Boruto finished. He knew how his Uchiha teammate's mind worked and theorized. He put his full trust in her.

"...or maybe someone with a good heart took her to the hospital," Tazuna added, "I'm not sure, but it's just my belief that there are good people out there who'd do the right thing."

Boruto and Sarada glanced over at each other, then returned their gaze to the old man. After a moment, the two of them nodded in agreement.

"You might be right, sir. We need to get to the hospital as fast as possible," Boruto said.

The group of four proceeded to one of the major hospitals of the village they had spotted several hours ago,

 _' **Konoha General Hospital** '._

"Your taking advice from this old geezer?" Inari snickered, loud enough for Tazuna to hear him.

The older man comically smacked his grandson on the back of the head. The boy gave a surprised look.

"Oh come on, Gramps! What'd you do that for?" Inari whined as he rubbed the sore spot.

"I'm too young to be an old geezer, young man!" He chuckled in reply. Despite being in his 50s, Tazuna held tightly onto the belief you were only as old as you feel.

As they were walking to the hospital, Boruto sensed his connection with his clones begin to dwindle. Slowly, their chakra disappeared one at a time. What the heck happened to them?

Unbeknownst to the blonde, while they were searching, the streets began to increasingly become more and more crowded, forcing the clones to split up in hopes to finding the lavender-haired girl faster.

At first, it seemed their searches were going to be fairly uneventful, but fate had different plans for the clones. The shadow clones were defeated by simple day-to-day mistakes.

The first clone was destroyed by its recklessness whilst running from street to street. It had slipped on a banana peel, which led to him falling into a lamppost.

The second clone witnessed the first clone's stupidity, and accidentally popped itself when it facepalmed too hard.

The last clone, however, remained safe, as it stayed calm and used his brain to traverse each street safely. After hours, he finally sensed a familiar chakra signature in a place in an area in which he had just arrived.

Suddenly, Boruto stopped. He received the memories of his clone. Two people were with Himawari. Himawari was unconscious. His eyes widened, worries filling his head.

'Who were these people?' He thought. Are they to be trusted?

Though he'd like to think whoever found his little sister would be a good-hearted person, he couldn't be sure yet he could only hope that it was.

Sarada noticed how troubled the blonde looked and concern has caught up with her too.

"Hey, are you alright?" She asked.

Boruto snapped out of his thoughts. He turned to the raven haired teen and nodded.

"Yeah, I'm okay, Sarada-chan. One of the clones finally managed to track down Hima-chan's whereabouts."

Sarada eyes widened in surprised.

"Really? Where?! " She excitedly asked. She hoped her theory was correct.

"She's in the hospital with two other unidentified people," the blonde simply replied. Having no knowledge of who these people were, he didn't know exactly how to feel.

"Someone found the girl?" Tazuna asked from the back. He also hoped that his theory was correct.

Sarada turned to the old man and nodded.

"Yes, Gigi. It seems that someone had actually found her, and took her into the hospital," she explained. Tazuna took a deep breath and nodded.

"Good to hear that!" His hopes have come true. He really hoped that the person who found her would be showered with blessing.

Boruto didn't care. As long as his sister was alright, it didn't matter. If she were to get hurt, he knew he wouldn't be able to forgive himself. He was very protective of his younger sister, and silently vowed to himself he wouldn't let this happen again.

* * *

 **(Interview)**

 **"I really didn't expect the stress level to be that high. I was really in panic, and I started to blame myself for letting his happened again.**

 **-Boruto**

* * *

 **(MEANWHILE)**

The two Hyuuga's were surprised by how many people were in the hospital. Most of them were patients looking for a checkup, or prescriptions medicines.

Hanabi hated this part of the hospital. Not only did someone have to sit in the waiting room if they were seriously injured, but they'd be forced to watch the chaos in the emergency room. People were suffering from heart attacks, strokes, and people getting themselves into life or death situations.

Hospitals brought up a lot of bad memories for Hanabi ever since her mother died of an unknown illness. Neji didn't care for hospitals either.

"Who should we talk to?" Neji asked, surveying his surroundings. Most of the staff were running around like chickens with their heads cut off.

"I don't know. The clerk isn't even here to help," Hanabi sighed. It was a busy time of day to go to the emergency room. She heard from several the hospital staff was low today, but she ignored them.

Luckily, Neji spotted a familiar pink-haired girl a few distances away from them.

"I think I know her," he muttered to himself. It only took a moment until he finally recognized her as none other than the pink-haired member of Team 7.

"Sakura!" Neji shouted.

"Sakura?! As in Sakura Haruno?" Hanabi asked.

Neji nodded. "Yeah, She's the Sakura Haruno alright."

Sakura!" He called out the pink-haired medic's name. Ever since Sakura became an apprentice under Tsunade, she'd been taking shifts in the hospital and helping doctors and nurses while learning how to take care of different kinds of injuries and diseases. She was the only Team 7 member still in the village. The other two were either on a training trip or a hunt for power with a man that may or may not be a pedophile. He had to give her props for still staying in the village and not going off on some vendetta of her own. God knows she had her reasons to do so, as well.

Sakura made her way to Neji with a pleasant expression on her face, though it soon disappeared when she noticed the unconscious girl in his arms. She beckoned for a staff member to attend to them immediately.

"What happened?" Sakura asked.

"Hanabi and I found her on our way back to the compound," Neji explained as calmly as he could. "She was lying unconscious under a tree in the playground behind the clan compound. She seemed injured, so I brought her here.

Sakura nodded, as the gurney arrived onto the scene. She beckoned the brown-haired ninja to place the unconscious girl on the bed, to which he did.

"What's her name?" Sakura asked. She needed a name for the girl, or else her name would simply be 'Unknown'.

Neji and Hanabi did not know who this girl was, her name, or anything about her background, but in a certain twist, both of them noticed a sunflower attached on the girl's head.

* * *

 **(Interview)**

 **"We couldn't think of a name for the girl but when we saw the sunflower on her head, It instantly clicked into our minds that "Himawari" would be a fitting name for her.**

 **-Neji**

* * *

"Himawari!" Both exclaimed, much to the pink haired girl's surprised.

"Alright then," she said, nodding, as she wrote the name on the Patient Information form.

Sakura directed some of the staff to take the girl, now known as Himawari, to have a full routine checkup in the hospital room. She was going to take great strides to ensure the young girl's health.

She informed the two to go into the waiting area until further announcements were made.

Neji and Hanabi followed the Haruno's instructions, and sat down. Both remained silent, as they thought over what had happened.

"Himawari," they had said. At the same time no less. Why? Neither decided it was a good time to talk about what what had just happened.

"Neji," Hanabi sighed, "Do you think she'll be okay?"

Neji could only give his young cousin a sad smile.

"I hope so," he replied quietly. He tried to hide his face. Strangely, he felt sorrow. It felt as if the young girl was truly a part of them, and wasn't a complete stranger.

A small tear fell from the brown-haired Hyuuga's eyes. He didn't know what had gotten into himself. How pathetic he was acting right now was almost laughable. Though, he didn't feel like laughing. He felt proud of himself, strangely enough.

Hanabi didn't notice her cousin's emotional state, rather, she was too busy caught up in her own thoughts. The young girl had to be related to them, she had decided. She looked too much like a Hyuuga. Not to mention, the strange connection they had with her. It felt like she was friends with this young girl, in another life, perhaps.

The two Hyuuga's sat thoughtfully in their seats, awaiting news of the young girl, which was on their minds.

The silence was broken, when Hanabi stood from her seat. She reached into her pocket and drew her wallet out.

"What are you doing?" Neji asked.

"I'm checking to see if I have enough money to buy us some snacks and drinks for us, and for Himawari, too," she explained, not even realizing she mentioned the girl's name.

Neji nodded, oblivious to the fact as well. "Alright. I'll stay here," he replied.

Hanabi flashed a smile at him, and proceeded to go to a store nearest to the hospital.

* * *

Boruto and his crew finally arrived at the hospital. It had them taken forever to get there, and the journey was not easy in the slightest. Navigating through the drunken crowd of the festival made it near impossible, but at last, they finally made it.

Since the crowd at the hospital died down, the group made it to the front desk clerk easily.

"Excuse me, ma'am. Have you seen a lavender-haired girl here?" Boruto asked. He was exhausted from searching. He was hoping he'd find her here.

The hospital clerk raised an eyebrow at his strange question.

"You mean the girl was a patient here?" She asked suspiciously.

Boruto nodded tiredly, oblivious to her questioning look, "Yes, ma'am."

The hospital clerk, without taking her eyes off them, proceeded to check the record books for the patient.

"What's her name?" She asked, thumbing through the files.

"Himawari," the teenage blonde said, loud enough for Neji to hear. The brown-haired Hyuuga looked up at the sound of the name being spoken, eyes wide with realization.

"Himawari...? I think..." she spoke, surprised the boy actually knew the patient's name, "ah, here it is."

The blonde's eyes lit up in relief as he began to asked and beg the clerk." Is it alright if you could take us to her?" He asked desperately." Please, I really need to see my little sister Ma'am!" Boruto was in a state of hurry that he had forgotten to calm himself down.

By the time Neji reached them, He stood up firm, and went over directly to the blonde and his friends to confront them. Based on his observation, there were four of them. One was the blonde himself who was wearing a black jacket with a hood attached t, covering a white t shirt inside and black pants, the other was a raven haired young lady, with a red glasses donning a somewhat old red attire, and lastly an old man and his grandson, who seemed to be carpenters.

"Excuse me, did you say Himawari?" Neji asked, gaining their attention immediately. The teenager turned his gaze towards him, surprised.

"Yes, Himawari. She is my sister," He explained with a little bit of desperation in this voice.

He gave him a quick glance before going back to scanning the lobby like his partner. Before snapping his gaze back to Neji like a rocket, his face revealing shock. Now that he was finally looking at Neji, the brown-haired Hyūga was able to see the boy's full face. He had two white patches covering his cheeks, and a lone scar stretching from right under his eyebrow down to his cheek, right across the boy's right eye. His left one though, it was a blue Neji had seen only once elsewhere. Though maybe a tad bluer than what Neji knew. It seemed like the boy was evaluating Neji just like Neji was him. As the boy straightened up, his hoodie came off, revealing a mop of spiky golden hair. Neji's face showed pure shock. The boy, who seemed around his age, looked exactly like Naruto! Well, minus the scar and patches.

* * *

 **(Interview)**

 **"When I saw the kid, it kind of surprised me, because I thought I was looking at Naruto, although, He really looked like him. So I had to be sure if this guy was really telling the truth.**

 **-Neji**

* * *

"With all due respect, sir, I need to see her now. I want to know if she's alright," Boruto explained, trying to get passed the brunette. Unfortunately, He wouldn't move.

"Please, sir, I really need to see her," Boruto said. He didn't want to cause any trouble, but this person was going to force him to do something if he didn't move.

After several attempts of begging from the blonde, and rounds of explanations from the others, Neji finally sighed in resignation. At last, he saw truth in the teenager's eyes.

"What's your name, at least?" Neji asked.

"My name is Bolt," Boruto said, forcing himself to calm down.

From serious and wary, in a split second, Neji's face suddenly lit up, and he smiled. He raised his hand to shake the blonde's hand, surprising the boy once again.

"Nice to meet you, Bolt. I am Neji Hyuuga," He introduced himself.

Boruto nearly fainted at the sound of his words, instead, settling for gaping like a fish out of water. No way! This was his mother's cousin, Uncle Neji. Was this a ghost in front of him? According to what he knows, his uncle is supposed to be dead!

* * *

 **(Interview)**

 **"I really thought I was staring at a ghost, yet it wasn't ghost, it was a warm-blooded human and It was My late Uncle Neji."**

 **-Boruto**

* * *

The Hyuuga stared at him, brows furrowing at his strong reaction. Seeing as the blonde wouldn't take his hand, he lowered it awkwardly.

Right about the same time, Hanabi returned, plastic bag of snacks and drinks in hand. When Hanabi saw her older cousin talking to the blonde, confusion immediately overtook her.

Her cousin was standing next to a teenage blonde, who was accompanied by a raven-haired girl with red glasses, an older man, and a boy in his early teens. Yet, all of them remained silent, none talking to each other, just staring.

She took a few steps towards them, but none of them noticed her. Finally, she broke the awkward silence.

"What the heck is going on here?"

* * *

 **CHAPTER END**

 **AN: Thank you very much for reading the chapter:)**


	8. Arc 1: Small Reunions 2 (Edited)

**Disclaimer:**

 **I don't own Naruto. Kishimoto Does.**

 **Author's note: Hey there, Readers! I'm back with a new chapter! Hope you guys enjoy!**

 **Beta: Fiddlestickz**

* * *

 **(Interview)**

 **"You know, Mom would always say to me that Uncle Neji played a big part in the events that changed her and Dad's life. I heard a lot of stories about him, but I never really believed Mom, since I was a pretty skeptical kid back then. I preferred to see the truth by seeing him in person, but the problem was he was already gone. So, I guess I never really knew him, and expected I never would, but here he is, in the flesh."**

 **-Boruto**

* * *

Everyone had fallen completely silent, as the Uzumaki and the Hyuuga stared at one another. The whole group glanced at one to the other, feeling uncomfortable in the tense atmosphere.

"Uncle Neji?" Boruto muttered the question to himself loud enough for the brunette to hear him.

"'Uncle'?" Neji asked, raising a questioning brow. Why was he calling him Uncle? He didn't even look old enough to be the his uncle, surely.

A second later, Boruto realized that he had spoken his thoughts aloud, and his uncle had heard him. His mind was falling into panic. How was he going to explain this to him? He didn't want to look like a crazy person, but right now with anxiousness creeping up his throat, he couldn't say anything, but he had to do something.

Neji, put off by his comment, stared at the blonde in offensive. He wondered if this boy was telling the truth about... anything he claimed. Was he really the brother of that unconscious girl? Could he be? He hardly even resembled the girl. He was blonde, first of all, and he wore a white shirt with a black jacket, and black jogging pants. However, on his cheeks, there were two strange patches, which he did share with the young girl. A small part of him wanted to trust the blonde. One of the things that had caught his attention earlier, were his cerulean eyes. It reminded him of an important person and friend.

Just as Boruto was about to say something, he was interrupted by a female voice. The two boys turned to the source of the sound.

The blonde's eyes widened in shock. "Aunt Hanabi," he whispered under his breath, more carefully this time, so no one heard him. He would have to be wary about saying names aloud.

Hanabi shot the blonde a confused look, as she arrived at the unsual scene in front of her. Before she had left, Neji was the only person in the waiting room, but now, there were four new people. Probably led by the blonde, who she figured, was the leader of the pack. He looked like a leader.

Even though she had just arrived, she could feel the awkward tension between all of them, including her cousin, and she disliked the feeling greatly. She had to do something to allieviate the awkwardness before it drove her crazy.

"Excuse me, but what the hell is going on here?" Hanabi asked authoritatively. She needed to be calm right now, rather than completely fly off the handles like she wanted to do.

Meanwhile, the guys simply stared at her. They didn't speak a word nor move a muscle. They just stood there, quietly looking at her, which further irritated the girl.

Boruto couldn't believe his Mother's little sister, Hanabi, was actually right here in front of him. In addition to meeting her, it seemed the rumors he heard about her were true. His aunt was a really mature person at her age.

'So, this is Boruto's aunt?' Sarada thought to herself. She didn't quite understand what was currently happening, but she had a feeling things were about to get interesting.

Tazuna and Inari glanced at one another, wondering if what they were witnessing was real. It felt like a hallucination, or a scene from some sort of soap opera.

Hanabi sighed, and then shook her head, disappointed by their silence. There was only one way to solve this problem.

"You know, guys... rather than just being quiet and staring at each other," she raised the plastic bag in her hand in front of them, "Let's just eat."

* * *

 **(Interview)**

 **"I literally wanted to end the awkwardness once and for all. It was just getting really weird to see eveybody staring at each other as if they were in some kind of Love Trance. Heck! If I find myself being one, I would walked straight out of the door!"**

 **-Hanabi**

* * *

 **(LATER ON)**

As the day went on, the guys found themselves seated in the waiting area, with the snacks Hanabi brought them. They sit in a confortable quiet, as they ate their food, which consisted of sandwiches and fruit juices in canned drinks.

Sarada was peacefully munching on her sandwich, when she heard her name being called. She looked up, and saw Hanabi looking at her expectingly. Though she wasn't proud of it, Sarada couldn't help but be a bit scared of the girl. The Hyuuga seemed to have a very intimidating personality.

As for Hanabi, the Hyuuga girl stood up from her seat and proceeded over to where the raven haired teen was seated. By the time she reached her, she immediately opened her mouth towards her first question.

"Your name is Sarada, right?" Hanabi asked as she tried her best to give the girl a friendly and polite smile.

"Um, yes, ma'am," Sarada replied automatically, not even realizing she had called her a name which was usually reserved for respect given to elders.

Hanabi raised an eyebrow as she stared puzzlingly at the raven-haired girl. 'Did she just call me ma'am?' she asked herself. She tried to shrug the off color comment off to avoid any additional awkwardness, but she couldn't help but wonder... did she really look like a ma'am to her? Did she have any wrinkles?

"I just wanted to ask if you knew what was going on. Ever since you guys came in, my cousin keeps staring at your blonde friend weirdly," Hanabi explained. She directed the Uchiha's attention to the spot where the two aforementioned boys were located.

Neji was silently eating his sandwich, but at the same time, was staring intently at the blonde as if he was in trouble.

On the other hand, Boruto was just trying his best to ignore Neji, whilst quietly eating his food. Sarada couldn't help but smile at the funny scene.

"I'm sorry about my cousin. I really don't know what has gotten into him," Hanabi sighed. She then stood up from her seat, and began to leave.

The Hyuuga suddenly paused, and turned heel, facing the raven-hair girl with a smile. "Hey, can you do me a favor?" Hanabi asked. In return, Sarada shot her a questioning look, blinking at her a couple times. "I want to have a conversation with you... somewhere away from everyone," Hanabi added, her tone of voice suddenly serious. Hanabi had a lot of questions, and none of them have been answered thus far, and Hanabi knew the quest ones like the Uchiha were the best to ask.

Sarada could only nod in response, wondering why she needed to talk to her, now of all times. However, from the tone of her voice, she knew this would be an important conversation, one she couldn't miss.

After telling the others they were going outside to get a breath of fresh air, the two girls left the waiting area to have a discussion.

* * *

 **(MEANWHILE)**

Boruto awkwardly bit into his sandwich. In his peripheral, he could see his uncle's suspicious gaze follow him. He nervously swallowed. Were all the Hyuuga's always this intimidating? He didn't remember his mother being this way.

He tried to make eye contact with his uncle to get him to stop staring, but the latter didn't back down. They just awkwardly stared at each other for a minute or two, until Boruto got tired of the staring contest, and bowed out. However, Neji continued to stare at him, like a tiger stalking it's prey.

As this scene played out, Inari and Tazuna were amusedly observing the show in front of them. The old man drank his cup of coffee, while the young boy drank his apple juice from a small carton. They were officially on a movie set, it seemed. But eventually, the hospital clerk turned the TV on, which drove their attention away the two boys. They preferred to watch the television than the real life soap opera in front of them.

Neji, on the other hand, was fully aware of how awkward he was making things, but he felt his reasons for keeping an eye on the blonde were justified. After all, he had no reason to trust the blonde, and he felt partly responsible for keeping Himawari safe. He had to make sure this stranger was a trustworthy person.

However, there was another reason he was carefully watching him. The boy strangely reminded him of Naruto, but much calmer and more collective. 'It was as if he was a mix of Naruto Uzumaki and Sasuke Uchiha', he thought to himself, 'Sasaruto, perhaps?'

Neji shook his head. This observation game was getting him nowhere. He needed to engage him head on. Approaching him and asking him some questions was the only way he would get any answers. He wasn't going to be hostile towards the boy, he thought confidently. He just wanted to know why he would leave his sister at the playground unconscious like that.

As he opened his mouth to finally speak, he was cut off by a familiar female voice interrupting him.

"Excuse me," the girl spoke. All heads turned towards the source of the sound, and saw a certain pink-headed lady, who had just arrived at the scene.

'Aunt Sakura!' Boruto internally screamed. He couldn't believe it; he was staring right at the younger version of his father's teammate. Nothing could make this any better, except maybe if Dad was here to see her right now.

When the pink haired girl arrived, she expected to see only Neji and Hanabi waiting for her but only to discover that he was with another person and Hanabi's whereabouts were gone. She also surveyed her surroundings also to find that two familiar people were in the area as well.

When Sakura arrived, she was shocked to find more than just Neji and Hanabi waiting for her. Multiple new people had shown up, and Hanabi was nowhere to be seen. She scanned the room, and found two familiar faces.

"Inari-kun?! Gigi?!" the pink-haired girl gasped, taken aback by the two.

For, Tazuna and Inari they recognized the familiar voice and turned to see an old friend. They couldn't believe that pink haired girl was also here in the hospital. But what was she doing here by the way?

Tazuna and Inari turned at the sound of their old friend. The two stared at her disbelievingly. They haven't seen their friend in such a long time, but they didn't understand why she was here. 'What is she doing in the hospital?' they wondered in tandem.

"Sakura-neesan!" Inari darted out of his seat, and rushed towards her. He immediately gave his friend a hug, to which the rose-haired girl laughed and gladly returned it. Right behind the boy, the older builder followed suit. Sakura bowed her head respectfully towards the old man.

"I didn't expect to see you in place like this, Sakura," Tazuna said, smiling kindly at her. He hadn't seen the girl in years. She had grown so much, it looked like.

Sakura returned the smile. "Well, Lady Hokage assigned me here as a part of my training, and also for me to gain experience," she explained." I'm also just gettting used to the shifts and literally making crazy, if you know what I mean." She gave out a little chuckle.

Tazuna laughed good naturedly. "Welp, we wish you the best of luck then! Don't we Inari?" The young boy enthusiastically agreed. He had wished her luck, but he didn't think she'd need it. He had a good feeling this young lady will do well in the medical field.

Realization suddenly hit Sakura. She had almost forgotten the reason she had come out. She couldn't believe it, her job was to announce to Himawari's family her current condition, and here she was having a conversation! How unprofessional!

Sakura immediately turned her focus back to Neji and his companion. She, of course, recognized Neji, but she had no idea who the person was with him. Though, she supposed it didn't really matter if he was here, she found it strange how familiar he looked. He looked like her teammate, who has been on a two-year training trip. She shrugged it off. Maybe it was just his eyes that reminded her of Naruto.

Sakura walked up to the boys, and sighed, "Alright, guys. Before I make an announcement, I need to know who the family members are—"

Before she could even finish, the two men in front of her abruptly stood up. "I am!" they shouted at her in unison.

Sakura blinked, eyes flickering between the two. She wasn't sure if she should be shocked or laugh at the scene. She decided to shake off the comment, and took a deep breath in order to continue.

"Well, I'm happy to say... she is perfectly fine. We did a thorough check up, and all her vital signs appeared normal," Sakura said confidentially. Upon checking, it appeared the girl has been unconscious for quite some time, and would likely wake up confused and disoriented, but she will be fine, Sakura was confident in this.

Boruto and Neji sighed in relief, a massive weight had been lifted off their shoulders. After all this struggle, she was going to be alright.

"Since her condition is stable, you may visit her if you like," Sakura suggested with a smile. Delivering good news to anxious family members was easily the best part of the job, in Sakura's opinion.

The two men stole glances at each other, before they turned back at the pink-haired girl. A hopeful look on both of their faces.

Sakura turned around and gestured them to follow her. She was leading the boys to the hospital room, until she suddenly stopped. She turned heel to face them, and spoke.

"Oh! I forgot to tell you guys. She is already awake."

* * *

 **(LATER ON)**

The journey to the room where the lavender-haired girl resided was a relatively quiet one. Boruto and Neji were led by the pink-haired girl as they wandered the corridors of the hospital. Both young men barely paid any attention to where they were going, they were in focused on their own thoughts. What were they to say once they arrive? What were they going to do?

Neji wondered on what will be the girl like when she's already wake. Could she have the same brash and outgoing character just like his cousin? or Maybe a more shy personality like the Hyuuga Heiress? Aside from that, he felt a little nervous as they traverse through the hospital corridors nearing the particular every step they took. The Hyuuga himself kept eye on the blonde teenager, his thoughts still dwell the fact that he looked a lot like Naruto. He never met before, but it felt like he knew him for years which was very strange. Could Hanabi had that same feeling too?

Other than that, Just who was this guy?

As the time got closer, there was a sense of nervousness that was building in the air that was almost palpable. After a few minutes, they finally arrived at their destination.

"Alright, here we are," Sakura finally said, presenting them the room where the lavender haired girl was currently residing. She went through the door first, and everyone followed behind her. She approached the hospital bed first, and began. "Hello, Himawari. There are some people who wanted to see you," Sakura informed her quietly.

For the two, as they entered the room on Sakura's cue, it seemed the world was slowing, and their hearts were beating faster. They had prepared words to say to her, but they fell short upon the sight of her.

Boruto was the first one to see his little sister finally awake. After everything that happened, here she was. The two siblings were back together, and were okay. He felt his eyes forming tears, but he tried to hold them back as best he could.

The now conscious girl's eyes shot from the TV to her older brother. "Boro-niisan!" Himawari cried out, surprised. She had missed her brother immensely. Himawari didn't understand what was going on, and that scared her, so seeing her big brother was everything to her.

Boruto darted over to his sister's side, and immediately embraced her as tightly as he could. He had thought he had lost his little sister. As soon as his younger sister's hands clenched onto his back, the dam stopping his tears broke. He sobbed in the young girl's arms.

Himawari smiled, tearing up as well. "Oh come on, Boro-Niisan! You don't have to cry. I'm perfectly fine," she explained, which only made him cry harder.

Her eyes scanned the room, and she spotted another person standing by her bed. She immediately recognized him as her late uncle, Neji. Himawari's eyes widened at the sight of him. How was he alive? Wasn't he dead? It's absolutely impossible for him to be standing right here, she thought to herself.

Neji smiled at the lavender-haired girl, which he carried for so long on his back. She was incredibly cute, and had the same eyes as her brother. "Hello, Himawari."

Himawari returned the smile. Her uncle was really, really here, she figured. He wasn't a ghost. She wondered what he was like, since she had never met him before. Getting to know him face-to-face was far superior than listening to Mom's stories.

* * *

 **(Interview)**

 **"When I saw him, I immediately recognized him as Uncle Neji. I thought I was looking at a photo, but it was really him and I felt this sense of excitement that I wanted to meet him for all these years!**

 **-Himawari**

* * *

 **(REVEAL)**

Later in the afternoon, the cold breeze began to blow stronger than before. The sun was slowly setting in the distance. Yet still there were a lot of customers having their own great time.

Hanabi stared curiously at the raven-haired girl. She had brought Sarada to a tea house nearby in order to question her. She wanted to get to the bottom of this situation.

The place where this little interview was held was personally chosen by the Hyuuga girl herself, and places like this can be a good spot for any conversation and it would also take all the nervousness and tension away.

On the other side of the table, Sarada was nervous and hesitant, but she tried to enjoy her tea. She was trying her best to answer the girl's questions, but it felt like she was creating more questions rather than answering them.

Hanabi sighed, as she took a deep breath. "Well, to get straight to the point, I just want to know what happened. What happened with you guys and the girl?"

She had a weird vibe about this whole situation. Something was just not adding up.

Sarada debated for a moment, until she finally decided to tell her. It was a long story, but the older girl gave her no choice. She was going to tell Hanabi the story, all while hoping the latter believed her.

Hanabi stared at her expectingly.

"Well, um," she began, "this is going to sound farfetched and ridiculous."

Hanabi raised an eyebrow. "What you mean?" she asked. Her curiousness was rising.

Sarada sighed. "Well, I was thinking maybe you wouldn't believe me and—"

"You think I haven't heard anything farfetched or ridiculous before? I've seen enough to not be bothered by a weird story, trust me," Hanabi laughed.

"Well, uh, to be honest... w—we don't belong here," she explained vaguely. She can still feel the nervousness creeping up to her.

"What do you mean?" Hanabi asked. She was already looking at the raven haired teen straight in the eye, trying to give her a little boost of encouragement.

Quietness took over for a brief moment. Sarada felt her heart beating faster. She didn't know what would be the girl's reaction if she told her the real truth about their current situation. Although, she did managed to gain the courage and finally spill the beans.

"We... don't belong in this time... or era," Sarada replied.

"What do you mean 'not from this era'?" Hanabi asked, more confused than ever. This girl surely wasn't talking about what she thought she was talking about, right?

Sarada looked away, thinking carefully about what she was about to say, until her gaze came back to the Hyuuga in front of her.

"We are from the future."

 **CHAPTER END.**

* * *

 **(Interview)**

 **"I was definitely nervous, I didn't know what to say at first. No one would really believe that we came from the future. Time travel is a very complicated thing. Yet, I had no choice but to just straightforwardly tell her the truth. It was the only way and she was willing to listen.**

 **-Sarada**

* * *

 **AN: Thank you for reading the chapter! Thank you also for the likes and follows for the story.**


	9. Arc 1: Small Reunions 3

**Disclaimer:**

 **I don't own Naruto. Kishimoto Does.**

 **Author's note: Hey there, readers! I'm back with a new chapter! Hope you guys enjoy!**

 **Beta reader: Fiddlestickz**

* * *

 **Arc 1: Small Reunions 3**

Himawari was surrounded by pitch black darkness and deafening silence. She found herself in a seemingly endless void. She looked around, disoriented and confused.

'Where am I?' Himawari pondered silently. She scanned her surroundings again, but no matter how many times she looked, nothing changed. Her body felt numb, as if she has been here for an eternity.

She attempted to scream, but no sound came out. Her heart began to race. Where was she? What was she doing here?

Was she dead? Was this what death was? being stuck in an endless nothing for eternity?

She tried to speak again, anything, any word that she could think of, she tried to say, but it ended in silence. Relentlessly, she tried again, and again, and again, failing each time. Tears began to form in her eyes, and for the first since she was a little girl, she felt helpless.

It was useless; nothing was working, she thought to herself bitterly. Just when she was about to give up all hope, a small light appeared in the darkness, as if someone poked a hole in void with a toothpick. She looked up at the small light. It was getting bigger and bigger, followed by a familiar voice calling after her.

"Hima, don't worry... Everything's going to be alright."

Himawari's tearful eyes widened. She knew that voice. How could she forget? It was her mother! She tried to run towards it, but then suddenly, the light surrounded her until it engulfed the darkness.

Grey eyes was the first she saw. The lavender-haired girl's stared in shock. For a moment, she believed she was in danger, until she realized who it was.

"M—Mom?" Himawari asked hesitantly, almost afraid that the image in front of her would disappear. She couldn't believe it. She didn't know if she should feel relieved or confused.

"Himawari..." Hinata replied softly with a smile. Her mother, or maybe it was only a vision, cupped her cheeks in her hands.

Tears flowed down Himawari's cheeks. She tried to speak, but felt paralyzed.

"I will always be there for you and your brother, Himawari," her mother assured her.

Himawari stared at her in awe. She didn't know what to say. She wanted to hug her, but wasn't this just a vision? just a spirit? She wasn't even really there, but Himawari wanted to pretend it was really her, just for a moment. She began to close her eyes, until a voice called out to her.

"Himawari, it's not your time yet."

* * *

 **(WAKING UP)**

Everything felt blurry for a moment. Himawari was lying on something soft, like a bed or a pillow. She tried to open her eyes, but was attacked by a blinding light.

She cringed and closed her eyes again. Gathering strength, she held her breath. She opened her eyes for a second time, and this time she was successful. However, everything was blurry, and she felt slightly light-headed.

"Where am I...?" Himawari wondered aloud, as she slowly sat up from the bed she was laying on.

"You are in a safe place, don't worry," An unfamiliar voice replied.

When the lavender-haired girl's vision cleared, she saw a young woman with short pink hair tied back in a pony tail. She had striking emerald green eyes, which reminded her of someone she knew. She noticed she wore a white lab coat over her clothes.

Bewildered, the Uzumaki stared at the young woman. She looked familiar, but why? She couldn't piece it together. Plus, why was she in a hospital? Was this heavan? If it is, she would never have to return to her world. She could stay here for as long as liked, forever even.

Little did she know, this was not the case.

"Your name is Himawari, correct?" The woman asked, holding a clipboard in her arms.

"Yes, ma'am." Her voice was scratchy from not being used.

The woman nodded, then wrote something down on her clipboard. She directed her eyes to Himawari, who was staring at her blankly.

She smiled reassuringly. "Alright, Himawari. My name is Sakura Haruno. I will be the person in charge of checking your health," she said.

Himawari became quiet. 'Sakura... Where have I heard that name before?' She pondered. She couldn't figure it out, until...

'Aunt Sakura!' Himawari's eye's widened in shock. Her mind began to spin in an endless thoughts and questions like a merry-go-round. This was her Sarada nee-san's mother!

'But why does she look so young?' She stared at the pink haired teen in awe, as if she was some kind of famous historical figure.

* * *

 **(Interview)**

 **"I really thought I was in heaven when I woke up. Aunt Sakura was there in front of me and she really looked young. Aren't people supposed to be young when they enter the afterlife? But then, it slowly came up to me and I realized that In fact alive and breathing, Yet still Aunt Sakura still looked like a Teenager."**

 **-Himawari**

* * *

Sakura raised an eyebrow at the patient, wondering why she was looking at her like that. Although, the young girl looked familiar, she had never met this girl before. But now she that she thought about it, she looked an awful lot like her blonde teammate...

After a moment of quiet, the pink-haired teen shook her head, and sighed, "Alright, since you're finally awake, I'll go fetch the people who brought you here." She prepared to leave the room.

Himawari blinked. She watched the her Aunt Sakura's back as she left the room. It was silent once again. She spent most of the time exploring her thoughts, wondering why everything felt so vague now. She couldn't remember a thing.

Himawari sighed, scanning her surroundings. She was in a hospital, but where? There was only one hospital back home, and it was massive compared to this one. This hospital looked outdated.

She looked to her right, and saw a plastic bottle of water. Reaching over, she took it, and opened the cap. The cool liquid refreshed her dry throat. She drank only half of it, saving the rest of it for later.

After she was done, she put it back on the table beside her. She closed her eyes, trying to relax for a while. She needed rest. Though, when she shut her eyes, images of destruction of a village and death of many people began to flash in front of her eyes.

She tried to open her eyes, but she couldn't. Himawari began to shake. After a moment of horrors flashing in front of her eyes, she realized these weren't random images, these were her own memories.

She didn't know what happened to her mother and father. When she tried to remember, it ended up blurry and only made it harder. She could only remember snippets and fragments. However, what appeared before her was a mysterious person with menacing amber eyes, sitting atop the Hokage mountain. He was accompanied by many people who was standing beside him. They projected an aura of evil that was too much for any mortal to handle.

The last thing Himawari saw was her brother clashing with Kawaki, as a bright light engulfed the entire area.

Her eyes snapped open, as soon as she was able to open them. There was someone knocking on the door, she realized. She swallowed, preparing herself to look presentable to the people about to enter.

A moment later, the door opened, and in came Sakura Haruno, smiling excitedly. She had a surprise for the girl.

"Hello, Himawari. These are the people who wanted to see you," Sakura informed her. Two people followed behind her.

The blonde young man was the first to enter. His eyes were damp, and he tried his best to hide them. Himawari's lit up and she gasped, staring at her big brother. He wore a different clothing, she noted. Where was his tattered clothes?

"Boro-nii!" Himawari cried. The lavender-haired girl felt estatic to see her brother again. Seeing her brother, especially after everything she had just been through, was everything to her.

Boruto rushed towards the hospital bed, hugging her as tightly as any older brother would. Already in tears, he embraced his little sister, sobbing.

Himawari smiled. "Oh come on, Boro-nii! You don't have to cry. I'm perfectly fine, y'know," she explained with a laugh, wrapping her arms around him.

Out of the corner of her eye, she noticed another person standing there. Immediately, she recognized him as her Uncle Neji from the old photos in her Mom's albums.

Her eyes widened and she gasped. How was it possible he was still alive? He was dead. This was impossible for him to be right there in fronh of her, yet here he was fully living and breathing.

Neji smiled. This was the same lavender-haired girl he carried on his back, he thought fondly. She was astonishingly cute, and had the same eyes as her brother. She had that aura which suddenly lightened up the mood of the whole room altogether.

"Hello, Himawari," He smiled and greeted the girl. Anticipating her first impression. He was still a bit nervous.

Himawari returned the smile, unsure of herself. She wanted to get to know her uncle in person, rather than just stories.

* * *

(Interview)

"When I saw him, I immediately recognized him as Uncle Neji. I thought I was looking at a photo, but it was really him and I felt this sense of excitement that I wanted to meet him for all these years!

-Himawari

* * *

 **(REVELATION)**

Hanabi stared wide-eyed at the raven-haired girl. Her and her friend were from the future? Was she joking? Surely she had to be, right...?

Hanabi shook her head t spoke, as she knew these times were different. As far as these people knew, there was only one Uchiha left in the world.

After assuring no one was around, she spoke, "My name is Sarada Uchiha. I am the daughter of Sasuke Uchiha and Sakura Haruno," she explained quietly, tapping into her seriousness as best as she can.

Hanabi's jaw dropped. Did she just say she was an Uchiha?! But the Uchiha's were considered an extinct clan, except for the very few ones left. Surely she wasn't claiming she was an Uchiha, but daughter of Sakura Haruno as well?

* * *

 **(Interview)**

 **"I almost spit out my drink when she told me she was the daughter of those two. I thought, I was listening to a fictional story here. It was very hard to believe, yet you really feel that you wanted to believe.**

 **-Hanabi**

* * *

'They really did end up together...' Hanabi mused in shock.

"I knew Nee-sama had it in her!" Hanabi clapped her hands in excitement. If Neji was reading his expression correctly, and he worriedly hoped he didn't, her face was indicating she had probably already started picturing her older sister in different wedding gowns, holding bouquets. "You have to tell me how they got together!"

Sarada seemed to have found her question amusing. "Well, Aunt Hanabi," she gave a slight nervous smile. "You could say it was mostly because of you."

Though seemingly not used to being called "Aunt" Hanabi seemed to have decided to go with the flow and instead focused on the "important" information she was presented with. It was thanks to her that her beloved Nee-sama and Naruto got together! Neji had imagined she was thinking of ways she could push Hinata and Naruto to the fullest of their limits.

As farfetched as these stories were, and as much as Hanabi felt like her mind would explode from the information given, she decided to continue, to get the better picture no matter what.

The tone of the conversation then shifted to a more serious one thereafter.

Sarada began explained what happened, telling the girl of the future. The village of Konoha was destroyed, and the death of its Hokage, Naruto Uzumaki. She also told her that was too much for the Hyuuga girl.

She talked about Kawaki, who was adopted and treated like a member of the Hokage's family, and how he would attack the village in vengeance that was too complex to explain. The ordeal left a scar on her blonde teammate's eye, but it did not stop him from facing the person he once considered a brother on top of the destroyed Hokage Mountain.

Sarada also told the Hyuuga that she and lavender haired girl were witnesses and saw the whole fight unfold. She would go on to describe it as an overwhelming fight. Though, it ended with a clash followed by huge explosion and a bright light that engulfed them. After that, she would go tell that her blonde teammate woke up somewhere in a random forest. She explained that she and the younger girl were unconscious and was carried by none other than the blonde himself. Not too long, He found safe haven in the form of a transportation wagon owned by Tazuna and Inari and from then on the rest is history.

Hanabi stared in disbelief. It felt like she had just heard the most classified information of all time. Even for someone like her, it was difficult to digest all of the information. Sure, she had heard all of the most far fetched stories from everyone she knew, but this was one on a whole new level.

As much as Hanabi tried to remain grateful and appreciative for her telling the truth, she couldn't help but feel challenged in terms of believing it. She needed evidence from the raven-haired girl that she was telling the truth, then she would believe her.

* * *

 **(Interview)**

 **"The Last thing that I needed was the evidence, despite the truth in her eyes, I really needed that big proof and then I got what I was looking for"**

 **-Hanabi**

* * *

As for Sarada, she was pondering how she would convince the latter, until she realized what she must do. Reluctantly, she took a deep breath and closed her eyes. When she opened them, she revealed the Sharingan, a ability only the Uchiha could possess.

That was enough for Hanabi to believe. She wouldn't need anything else. She knew the girl in front of her was telling the truth.

Before anyone noticed, Sarada turned off her Sharingan, then her obsidian eyes farted over to the Hyuuga, who was having difficulty holding her tea.

Hanabi stared in shock, until she finally regained composure. She sighed, "Okay, I believe you." She took a sip of her hot tea.

Sarada had told her everything she knew, but a part of her thought the Hokage should now know the truth as well. However, the problem was she had no idea how to contact the Hokage, or get a meeting with her. She knew that it would be much more difficult than back home, as they were much stricter in this era.

"Um... Aunt Hanabi?" Sarada looked away, fidgeting slightly.

Hanabi looked up, and raised an eyebrow. "Yeah?" she asked, now getting into a more comfotable feeling.

"Well, uh, I was wondering... can I ask you a small favor?" Sarada asked. She was really hoping the Hyuuga knew how to do this.

"What is it?" Hanabi inquired. She took a sip of her tea.

Sarada took another deep breath. "Can you arrange a meeting with the Hokage?"

The Hyuuga girl almost spit out her drink once more. Instead, she nearly choke on her tea but managed recover." Meeting with the Hokage!?" She asked. She was surprised with the girl's intention.

Sarada could only nod. She felt uneasy and wasn't sure if it was the right thing to asked such an impossible request. Was it really that impossible in this era?

As for Hanabi, she managed to gather herself once more. She understood the fact that talking to the Hokage was an important way of solving their situation, but it would take a lot of guts and herself didn't have thr power to arrange such a meeting. She cleared her throat and gave the raven haired teen a small yet unsure smile.

"I'm not really sure if I have the power to arrange a meeting with her." Hanabi clarified her statement." But, I can take you to the Hokage building, and from there you can request for a visitor's pass." She added. In truth, she really wanted to help her.

"Although, I have to warn you that Lady Tsunade has a bad temper." She warned the girl.

There was quietness that took over the two.

Sarada knew that it would be a challenge to talk to the Hokage. Yet, it was the only way for her to get the trust that she really needed so far. She then took a deep breath again and gave the Hyuuga girl a confident smile and nod.

"It's alright Aunt Hanabi, When can we see the Hokage?"

* * *

 **(MEANWHILE)**

Neji stood off to the side, and watched the two siblings reunite. He felt his eyes dampen. This was one of the first times he had ever seen anything like this. Usually, in his own family, life was mostly monotonous and silent. He was tired of his lifeless family back home, and he wanted something different, and felt like he deserved it.

The brown-haired Hyuuga found himself having a fruitful conversation with the two siblings, especially with Himawari. Shockingly, he felt comfortable with them, and he started to see them as family.

Himawari was the funniest, most adorable girl he had ever met. She was an amazingly positive, and a happy-go-lucky girl. She would tell him jokes that would make him burst in laughter for the first time in many years. Neji thought she could win any comedy contest any day.

On the other hand, Himawari was ecstatic to meet her uncle. She found out what her mother had said was true. He really was a serious and calm person, but deep down he wanted a cure for his monotony. The medicine was also known as 'laughter'.

She explained to Neji how she ended up on the playground, and told the whole story of them being orphans because of their 'small village' being attacked by raiders. When Neji finally understood what happened, he felt guilty for questioning the blonde. He was planning on apologizing to him immediately, but as he turned around, the blonde was gone. He was so focused on his conversation with Himawari he didn't even notice he had left.

"He went out into the hall," Himawari explained.

* * *

Boruto sighed, and rested himself on a metallic chair beside a corridor. He took a small sip from his cup of water, trying to relax. Since he had seen his little sister, he decided to let her talk to their uncle by herself for a little while.

He closed his eyes, recalling the events of the past few days. The fight between him and Kawaki, and the whole village in shambles because of it. The deaths of many lives, including his mother. She had given her life to protect Himawari.

Cringing, he opened his eyes. He didn't want to think about that anymore. He wanted peace of mind right now. He can talk to his little sister in order to relax, but his uncle seemed disappointed in him, which made things uncomfortable.

Boruto sighed yet again. When was this going to stop?

His thoughts were interrupted when a familiar voice called to him.

"Hey." The blonde looked up and saw his Uncle Neji, who was standing in front of him. He was also holding what appeared to be two cups of hot chocolate.

"Want some?" Neji asked, offering the hot drink.

"Uh, yeah... thanks."

Neji sighed. "Tazuna-san and his grandson are in the room for a while, so I thought maybe we could talk for a little for a bit," he explained, as he took a seat beside the blonde.

"I'm really sorry for what happened back there. I was just being protective," Neji apologized. He didn't mean to go overboard.

Boruto stared wide-eyed at the older Hyuuga. He didn't expect him to apologize. He concluded that his little sister might have said something to him, which made him realize.

Neji continued, "Hanabi told me that you risked your life just to protect her when your village got destroyed." He said, finally knowing the reason.

Boruto kept silent. He only gave a nod as he tried not to remember the bad memories. He stayed calm and still listened to the older Hyuuga, talking.

"I just wanted say... thank you... for protecting her," Neji said, surprising the blonde again. He decided to put his old issues aside. He was eager to talk to his nephew and get to know him. He was following the advice of his cousin, who told him to make a friend once in a while. She would be proud.

Boruto finally regained his senses. "No Problem." He replied back with a small smile, already preparing for another conversation, but more proper, later. He hoped his uncle wasn't as serious as he had been.

* * *

 **(MEANWHILE)**

Afternoon neared. The sky shone brilliant warm colors. Many people returned to their homes one by one, but Sarada and Hanabi proceeded to head towards the Hokage building.

Sarada was having second thoughts. Did she did the right thing? Asking a favor to a person was embarrassing for her. She still felt being a stranger here, after all. This all seemed to be too much so far.

Hanabi didn't mind, however. She merely shrugged it off, and did what she could to help the raven-haired girl accomplished her goal.

When they arrived at the Hokage tower, Sarada stared up, overwhelmed by awe. She called it an "Iconic landmark." It looked different than the future Hokage building back home.

Hanabi stopped her tracks and turned to the Raven haired Uchiha. She then gave her a serious look." Listen, this is the only thing I could do to help what you need now." She explained." It's up to you to convince her." She added.

"I know you can do it!"

Sarada nodded. She knew this was going to be a challenge, but she was prepared. She loved challenges, it gave her motivation to succeed.

Hanabi nodded in confirmation. "Well then, shall we get going?"

* * *

 **(MEANWHILE)**

The conversation between Boruto and Neji went well. They discussed things they agreed on, and finally let out all of their opinions. They were getting along.

Boruto explained how he saved the old man and the boy from bandits, which ambushed them in broad daylight in the forest. Neji smiled, impressed by his nephew. He was also listening to Boruto's tips about being a good cousin and big brother figure to Hinata and Hanabi.

"Thank you, I will take note of it." Neji smiled.

The blonde found he really enjoyed his time getting to know his unknown uncle. He offered advice on how to manage your temper, and being calm in the face of danger.

Neji talked to the blonde, as if he was his nephew. He wondered if Hinata were here, if she would be enjoying spending time with them as well.

The conversation lasted for a half hour until they returned to the room. Tazuna and Inari had to leave for their scheduled appointment, so the two bid them farewell as they left.

Before leaving, Tazuna have the blonde a small token in form of a small wooden symbol of hope. He had told him Boruto had potential, and would be key in changing the world to a better place. Inari also left something in the form of a chocolate bar which he bought from the nearby convenience store awhile ago.

Boruto smiled." Thank you very much from bottom of my heart." He thanked them with the fullest of smiles .

"No problem, Bolt-san! " Inari gave his response." Don't worry! We'll be back again, I promise you!"

"Best wishes to you all!" Tazuna gave his farewell." We'll visit the village again when we have the time." He added

Boruto simply nodded." Yeah, I'll treat you guys ramen when we finally settle down here." He smiled, he will never forget this experience.

As for both Grandfather and Grandson, the two left with a new experience, which they would tell their friends and family when they return to their own home.

* * *

 **(Interview)**

 **"I think Angels do exist! They sometimes just conceal themselves as good simple people. Old man Tazuna and Inari, really helped us out during that time and I wouldn't forget their kindness.**

 **-Boruto**

* * *

 **(MEANWHILE)**

Sarada stared at the door to the Hokage's office. Nervousness building up inside her, she couldn't help but worry about meeting the Hokage face-to-face.

"Here we go," Hanabi said, as she led them to the office.

Sarada hadn't moved, she stared at the Hyuuga with a terrified look on her face. Hanabi sighed, and gave her a small reassuring smile.

"Come on, Sarada. You need to get yourself together," Hanabi said, trying to motivate the girl. "Don't believe those rumors about the Hokage being a cruel and scary person," she said, as she opened the door. "Don't worry, I got your back," she whispered to her.

Sarada took a deep breath, and watched the Hanabi enter first. She bowed her head, and followed the latter into the office. When she looked up, no one was sitting at the large desk.

The two girls found themselves inside the Hokage office. It was just any other office. shelves, which contained a lot of books were located, stacks of paperwork located on the main desk. Plus, the office had 5 large rectangular opened windows in the back.

The only differences was that the Hokage herself was not present in the office, except for the small electric fan, which was left on. Was it a sign that the Hokage was a little forgetful?

"That's weird. Lady Tsunade should be here by now," Hanabi commented, looking over at the clock. She was baffled and wondered where the blonde woman could be at this hour.

Sarada, on the other hand, had gave a sigh of relief. It seemed she still have the time to prepare herself and gather up her confidence and some of her communication skills, also racking up some acting skills to get the drama on the road.

After a moment, footsteps could be heard outside the office. Not a minute had passed until the door suddenly opened, revealing a blonde-haired woman with a younger short black-haired woman, who was holding a cute little pig.

"You've got to be kidding me..." Sarada muttered under her breath. It felt like they have been ambushed.

Puzzled, Tsunade and Shizune stared at the newcomers. She recognized the black-haired girl as Hanabi Hyuuga, but the other one, she did not recognized at all.

Who was she?

Some Chunin, who wanted to complain about her instructor?

Maybe, a rare fan who wanted to sign an autograph? Ridiculous!

None of them spoke, as Tsunade gathered her thoughts, wondering what they were doing here at this time of the day. Heck! They should be already in their homes by now! Eventually, Tsunade clicked her tongue, breaking the silence once and for all. She finally want to get to the bottom of this.

"Alright, girls... what do you want?

* * *

 **(Interview)**

 **"Meeting Lady Tsunade at the time was nerve-wrecking for me. I really don't know why but she had that intimidating aura since the beginning.**

 **\- Sarada**

* * *

 **(MEANWHILE)**

Himawari rested her chin on a pillow. This was the best moment of her life. Her terrible first few days were worth it, as she managed to reunite with her big brother, plus, getting to know Tazuna, Inari, and her Uncle Neji.

She stared at the ceiling above her. Wondering silently, what was going to happen next? What now? What was the next step?

Will she ever see her loved ones again? Will there be a way to go back to the way it was? If so, then how's she going to supposed to that?

So many questions. However, the only thing she can do right now is relax. She had no control over anything like that, especially not right now.

She comfortably nestled herself into the bed. Surrounded by the cushions made her feel as if she was on a cloud floating off in the sky.

Everything was peaceful and quiet, but it didn't last long. Soon, she heard footsteps coming from outside. When they stopped, the door opened, and Himawari opened her eyes.

Himawari gave a sighed." Just give me a break!"

Who could be the visitor this time?

 **CHAPTER END**

* * *

 **AN: Thank you for reading the chapter! Thank you also for the favorites and Follows! Much appreciated!**


	10. Arc 1: Confrontations (Re-Edited)

**Disclaimer:**

 **I don't own Naruto. Kishimoto Does.**

 **Author's note: Hey there Readers! I'm back with a new chapter! Although this one is a bit short, so I Hope you guys enjoy!**

 **Beta Reader: Silverblossom**

* * *

 **Arc 1: Confrontations**

As the door slowly but finally opened, Himawari prepared yet again as she braced herself from another surprise. She just didn't know who this person behind the door was. Besides, she already knew that her big brother and Uncle Neji were outside bidding farewell to or parting ways with Tazuna and Inari.

When the door finally opened, A person stepped in and it was none other than, her big brother who surprisingly came early and was also carrying a plastic of bag of snacks and drinks. The lavender haired girl sighed in relief, She thought that it was someone else.

Boruto smiled at his little sister. Apparently, after parting ways with Tazuna and Inari, the blonde decided to head back to the room but not without buying some food to eat at the nearby convenience store, courtesy of Neji's budget. He did not have money right now.

The blonde sat down on a chair beside his little sister's bed. He placed the snacks and drinks on the side table and grabbed a can of juice and sandwich. He was really hungry right now.

"Hima-chan, feel free to grab a snack, in case your appetite catches up." The blonde informed his little sister as he munched away his sandwich. His stomach was already demanding for food.

Himawari just smiled." Why not? I'm really craving for a yummy sandwich right now." She cheerfully exclaimed. She would like to have any food right now to satisfy her hunger.

As the Uzumaki siblings enjoyed their snack time, with Boruto consuming two sandwhiches because of his big appetite while Himawari just enjoyed hers slowly. But of course, their snack time would not be complete without a conversation between the two siblings.

Himawari was the first one to break the silence." Boro-Nii." She called her big brother's name.

Boruto raised both of his ears and eyebrows as he turned to his little sister. He expected that she would be asking a question sooner than later.

"Yeah, what is it Hima-chan?" He asked.

"Where is Sarada-nee by the way?" The lavender haired girl asked. She wondered why the raven haired Uchiha was not here.

Boruto smiled and sighed." Well, She and your Aunt Hanabi went out to get some fresh air and maybe decided to have some to drink some hot tea along the way." He explained. He also expected that the two will be taking too long. When he was a boy, he remembered how his Aunt was this kind of curious person, she would always get the truth out of someone if they were too mysterious and suspicious.

Who knows? Sarada might be showing off her Sharingan right now to the girl. It was the only evidence that she got to make her believe that they are from the future.

"Boro-nii?" Boruto thoughts were interrupted yet again by his little sister.

"Yes Hima-chan?" He asked, raised both his eyebrows.

"Are we really in the past?" Himawari asked her second question. She was probably prentending just now to the people that she was talking to. But inside, she did not know a thing or what happened after that fight between her big brother and a cruel person named "Kawaki". She only remembered that she was engulfed by the bright light.

Boruto could sighed." Yes Hima, we are in the past. 20 years exactly." The blonde replied. He had no choice but to tell her the truth. Seeing their Uncle Neji was enough evidence for her to be convinced.

Himawari just kept silent. There were thoughts going around her mind. She took a deep breath as she drank her juice.

Boruto stared at the silent Uzumaki girl. He was a bit concern, she did not deserve to be seeing this and being in this current situation. She was just a young teenager. He began to think of a way to make sure that his little sister and raven haired teammate would always be safe no matter what.

"Boro-nii?" Himawari called his big brother's name yet again.

As the blonde then turned his eyes to the lavender haired again. He unexpectedly met the eyes of the worried Uzumaki girl. He wondered why would she be worried? They were currently in a safe place for now.

As for Himawari, she gave her big brother worried eyes. In truth, she was concern about the safety of her big brother. They must remember that anything can happen right now or later. The Unexpected things had the edge against the Expected things. She had to really wonder on what if they were not safe in this place. Considering on what her big brother faced before, she was just afraid that someday she might see him sacrificing his life just to protect her and Sarada.

Tears were falling from her eyes. Her emotions had finally come out after a very long journey." I'm sorry..." She muttered as tried to wipe the tears out yet it just kept on falling down.

Boruto gave a sad smile as he headed towards the lavender haired girl. He sat on the bed beside her and pulled her into an embrace as his little sister continued to sob on his shoulders.

"It's alright, you can let it go." He whispered as he tried his best to comfort her. Caressing her back slowly.

He knew that things would be different from now on. With their home, family, and friends gone forever. They found themselves trekking through this vast journey to the unknown. As the leader and big brother of their own group, Boruto swore that they will survived no matter what.

* * *

 **(Interview)**

 **"It was at that time that we realized that it was us against the world at the point. We really had to persevere again of we wantes to survive altogether."**

 **-Boruto**

* * *

 **(MEANWHILE)**

"What a Beautiful Sunset!" Neji commented as he watched the sun set in its glory from the rooftop of the hospital.

The Brown haired Hyuuga really enjoyed this kind of moments. It was nothing but pure beauty to him. It was like all the aspects of negativity wasn't here now. The perfect scene for anyone looking for peace.

Neji took a deep breath and relaxed himself. So many things have happened in just one day. He was only just expecting to have a normal hyperactive but boring day with his team and after that will go straight home to face the family life that he did not want to see. Although, Thanks to a girl named" Himawari." and her big brother, It was slowly changing him and made him a better person. It also gave him the inspiration and motivation to think about changing his family's lifestyle from now on.

It was just toxic for him.

He also thought of inviting the two siblings to the compound someday. That they would get to know the rest of the family especially Hinata. Maybe the siblings can establish a connection with her and give her the confidence that she needed. Although, this would be taking a lot of time to do so. They were still in the hospital, and nobody knows on when will his niece be discharged.

His niece.

In addition, they still have to talk to the Hokage and tell her everything that she needs to know for them to be safe and staying here. But he doubted the interrogation schemes in the village. The interrogation process in the village was just too much for him. In other words...

No mercy.

Neji sighed. These thoughts were overwhelming him. Although, He began questioned himself about his ability to protect Hanabi and Hinata. Someday, He will be risking his life on dangerous waters and when that time comes, He will do everything he can just for them to be safe. Would he survive though?

Neji's thoughts then changed the topic to none other than his cousin. Hinata was kind of a shy and timid person since they were kids. In addition, He also noticed that she was often the private person that she is. If there was any problem, He won't reveal anything and would keep it to herself. That was a factor that alienated the relationship between him and her.

Although, Speaking of Hinata, what was she up to these days? And what was she doing right at this moment? He hoped that she was alright wherever she is now.

More than ten minutes had passed, Neji decided to that it's time for him to go back to the room. The siblings might be waiting for him back inside. He needed to make sure that they are alright and coping.

* * *

 **(MEANWHILE)**

An Hour passed as The Uzumaki siblings were still in the room. Boruto took the time on reading some magazines that he found, which were displayed on the table, while Himawari turned on the television and began watching the different channels until it stayed on the movie category.

The Uzumaki siblings were really enjoying their time, they really deserved a good rest. After all the ordeal that has happened before. For Boruto, He could finally say that all that back breaking hard work had paid off.

A thought then came into the blonde's mind. He wondered about his Uchiha teammate, on what was she doing right now. If she indeed went to the Hokage building to have a meeting with Granny Hokage then he could only wish her the best of luck.

Although, He had that full trust and He believed in his friend. She has that strong spirit of her mother. She was will not go down or surrender that easily. She will fight for what is right and for what is true.

* * *

 **(MEANWHILE)**

Tsunade stared at the raven-haired girl. She was currently listening at the girl's testimony of her coming from the future. The blonde woman just rolled her eyes as if she was just listening to a kid's story. It was nothing but just fairy tales to her unless she had evidence to prove it.

Tsunade sighed." Look kid, Time travel doesn't exist alright, except for movies." She told the raven haired teen as she stood up from her seat.

"Please, Lady Hokage you have to believe me. What am telling is the truth." Sarada pleaded and explained. She was trying her best to convince her but at the same time not to bring out her temper.

As for Hanabi, She did what all she can to back her up, trying to explain things in a more organized way. But at the end of the day, She was just a teenager. She was talking against the Hokage herself. But still nobody had the guts to talk to her like what the raven haired kunouichi was doing right now.

Hanabi was impressed. The Hokage had given the girl the chance to talk and present her case and she wasted no time trying all the best techniques just to convince her. The raven-haired girl talked as if her life dependent on it.

To all her best efforts, it wasn't enough, The Hokage was going to leave soon for her occasional night out drinking and gambling. The hopes of convincing her was dwindling fast. Sarada was running out of time.

However, the fighting spirit of the raven haired teen never faded away.

It also turned out to be quite unexpected. Whoever knew that the conversation would reach until the outskirts of the Hokage building.

* * *

 **(CONFRONTATIONS)**

Tsunade had always described herself as rather normal and ordinary (as normal as a Sannin could be, that is). She wasn't that old, but she did agree to consider an early retirement, if only because she wanted to have some semblance of a private life (though it would probably be one consisting of insane amounts drinking and gambling). But when a snot-nosed brat named Naruto Uzumaki entered her life… well, suffice to say, it changed. She became a leader—Godaime Hokage of Konoha, in fact.

Yes, it gave her a purpose in life, but she was still adjusting, even after two years. Some nights, when she'd finished with her duties as Hokage, the sneaky blonde-haired woman would head to her favorite bars and casinos and resume her old lifestyle. After all, she had suchconvenient days off...

As for Shizune, well, her apprentice didn't really have any choice but to follow her. Tsunade was older than her, was her teacher, and she was the Hokage to boot—there was nothing Shizune could do about this habit of hers. So, it didn't really seem as though anything would change.

It was about a month later when she found a raven-haired girl, accompanied by Hanabi Hyuuga, waiting in her office. She and Shizune had been about to get their things on that Friday afternoon when she discovered the two girls waiting inside.

Apparently, the raven-haired girl had wanted to have a meeting with the Hokage—at the wrong time, given that Tsunade had just been about to leave for another night of gambling at her usual place. Nevertheless, despite being quite irritated about being delayed, Tsunade decided to give the teen a chance to talk.

So she did. The girl explained her purpose, claiming she came from a future where Konoha had been reduced to rubble, the land left a barren wasteland. To Tsunade, it seemed farfetched from the beginning, but as the girl continued her explanation, she could see that Shizune, at least, seemed more and more convinced, and it seemed as though her apprentice had slowly come to believe the raven-haired girl. The Uzumaki siblings were currently at the main hospital waiting for her, the girl claimed.

However, Tsunade herself refused to believe these outlandish claims without proof—she wasn't going to be gullible enough to believe any kind of hocus pocus. She was a skeptic, and she refused to believe the teen—after all, was a teenager really trustworthy? It was far more likely that this was a prank of some sort. Tsunade ended the conversation, deciding she had already heard enough and had wasted enough of her time.

However, for whatever reason, the raven-haired teen refused to give up.

When all hope of convincing her was lost. Sarada finally had enough as she tried to push it for one more time.

 **" _Please Lady Tsunade, I'm telling you that this is all true!"_**

 ** _"Sorry Kid, but I'm quite busy now."_**

 ** _"Better luck next time."_**

 _ **"Please**!"_

"Lady Tsunade, Wait!" Sarada grabbed Tsunade's arm. Gritting her teeth, the blonde woman turned around again, but this time, she sent a roundhouse kick at the girl's face, annoyed at all those interruptions. Realizing how much of a bad idea it would be to attack a civilian out of the blue, it was too late to stop her leg now. She was about to make contact with the girl's face when the raven-haired girl bent backwards, being just fast enough to dodge the kick.

Shizune and Hanabi were struck speechless, surprised that Sarada had been fast enough to dodge the attack.

"Beginner's luck," Tsunade arrogantly commented, slightly surprised as well. The girl may have gotten lucky once, but it wouldn't happen again. She shifted gears, sweeping her leg downwards into a second attack.

This time, Sarada was expecting it, and managed to avoid it again by performing a full body backflip out of the way. A crater formed where Tsunade's foot crashed into the ground, the floor shattering under the force behind her kick. Tsunade, surprised and annoyed, struck the ground with her foot, causing a small earthquake that split the ground behind, the shockwave headed towards the young woman.

This time, Tsunade was sure that there was no chance of the raven-haired girl blocking or avoiding her final attack. That only seemed to make the Uchiha girl more determined, however; the Uchiha girl had settled back into a ready-stance after she'd landed the backflip, and as she saw the shockwaved coming at her, she performed a counterattack, one accompanied by a familiar catch phrase.

" **SHANNARO**!" Sarada yelled, landing a punch on the ground that obliterated any trace of the shockwave and stopped the earthquake.

Shocked and surprised couldn't even begin to describe everyone in the area right then; it should've been impossible for a teenager to fully counter an attack from the Hokage. Tsunade herself was perhaps the most surprised, knowing exactly how much power had been behind her attack.

Sarada was barely out of breath, giving every a confident smile. Looking up, a pair of mesmerizing red eyes with the signature three tomoe spun lazily.

Tsunade widened her eyes—what she was looking at should've been even more impossible.

Sharingan…" Tsunade whispered. When the girl said she was an Uchiha, For a short, crazy moment, she had wondered if the girl was speaking the truth, though she immediately dismissed the thought. But now, the same girl was looking straight at her with the Kekkei Genkai of an almost extinct clan, so unless when Itachi Uchiha was murdering his clan he accidentally missed someone (highly unlikely), that girl was really... "Who exactly are you?" She hissed to the girl.

Hanabi was shocked, but she overcame her surprise quickly, the corners of her mouth curving upwards into a smile. She had often times disliked her Hokage's attitude and lifestyle—as Hokage, Tsunade really should have been performing her duties—and she found herself rooting for the raven-haired girl, hoping for her to teach Tsunade a lesson, since, usually, challenging a legendary Sannin was pretty much a death sentence.

Shizune, who was behind the woman, was greeted by shock and surprise. She was about to step in to prevent the problem from arising, yet the mystery girl managed to held her own.

Hanabi was speechless. She didn't knew what had exactly happened just now but it seemed to boil her blood. Her eyes lit up in amazement as she found herself watching the Uchiha girl standing up for herself and against a semi-arrogant Hokage.

It didn't seemed to be the case now, so Hanabi cheered for Sarada. "You go girl!" she exclaimed.

* * *

 **(Interview)**

 **" I was really cheering for her during that time, despite doing it in front of the Hokage, I didn't care, I could really see her determination and perseverance."**

 **-Hanabi**

* * *

Sarada's temper almost got the best of her, but she managed to keep herself from challenging the Hokage to a duel. Instead, she used her brain, hoping to reason with the older blonde woman.

"This isn't what we should be doing!" the Uchiha tried. "If we keep doing this, then we aren't going to get anything important done here!"

She was met with shock and silence, except from Hanabi, who was nodding and smiling along, sensing that things were about to change.

"You're the Hokage! You should know how to listen to someone else!" Sarada exclaimed, furious now.

"Hey kid, I listen to them but—" Tsunade was interrupted as the girl cut her off.

"Yes, you listen to them, but you don't care! You're always so preoccupied with the things you care about," she explained, small tears beginning to pool in her eyes.

Were she to be the Hokage, she would never be like that; there was a difference between a Hokage who was willing to listen and understand no matter what and one who merely listened, and then walked away, doing nothing.

Tsunade fell silent, thinking over the girl's words. She looked down, realizing that what the girl was telling her was an inescapable truth. She hadn't even realized she was going back to her old ways; even if she was the Hokage now, she was still the same old person inside.

Sarada took her glasses off, wiping away her tears. "Please, Lady Hokage, if you can just listen and believe me." A sob escaped her, before she quickly regained her composure.

She was doing this for herself, and for the Uzumaki siblings, she reminded herself. They'd been through a lot, and she wasn't going to give up this chance to make things right. She was almost there, too.

Shizune stared at the girl with awe. She had a good reason, and the only things left was to wait to see how Lady Hokage responded.

After a few moments, Tsunade looked up at the Uchiha girl, a serious look on her face, and took a deep breath. "Alright, take me to the hospital then," Tsunade said calmly.

Sarada blinked, surprised. Lady Hokage just agreed to go! But how? Why had she changed her mind? For Hanabi, on the other hand, it didn't matter; the Hokage had been convinced, and that was that.

"Okay, I'm going to perform a DNA test to see if you really are his daughter, and if what you said is true. The same goes for the other two brats you told be about," Tsunade said, turning and beginning to walk towards the hospital.

Shizune stared after her, as speechless as the rest. She had just witnessed what, quite possibly, could be the most impossible feat to ever happen.

"Shizune! Let's go!" Tsunade called.

"Yes Ma'am!" Shizune replied, immediately rushing to the Hokage's side, beckoning the other two girls to follow them.

A still-shocked Sarada turned to Hanabi, who raised her palm in a sign of approval. The raven-haired girl blinked a couple times as she realized what she had just done. "Did I just convince the Hokage?!"

* * *

 **(Interview)**

 **"I really had no choice at that time. I needed to push things to limit just to convince her that I was telling the truth. I didn't bother what else could happen but it was for the better and to get things going.**

 **-Sarada**

* * *

 **(LATER ON)**

Something funny really did happened inside the very hospital. It all started when the pink haired teen was on her way to retrieved the blood sample of Himawari that she had bumped into Neji, who was on his way back to Room 205.

Sakura being the lonely girl right now had asked the Hyuuga teen to accompany him to the lab and the guy reluctantly agreed. By the time they had reached the lab, they easily retrieved the blood sample. Yet, there was only one problem that hindered them from leaving the room. As soon they were about to leave, there was a certain small coackroach that suddenly showed up in front of them as it flew right towards the two, particulary Neji himself, who was also scared shitless.

This also caused the pink haired teen to instantly freaked out and threw a punch which directly and accidentally hit Neji on the face, specifically his right eye while the cockroach, who nearly landed on the Hyuuga's right eye, managed to survived by flying away from the scene.

Luckily, it didn't send the Hyuuga flying away with the exception of being knockdown on the floor.

Sakura could only apologized repeatedly to an almost half conscious Hyuuga.

Now she found herself walking through the corridors of the hospital, finally on their way back to the room. After what happened when they had retrieved the sample of the girl in the office (which, in hindsight, was kind of funny, though it had been somewhat scary at the time), they sighed in relief that it had ended as quickly as it had.

Neji was sporting a black eye from where Sakura had accidentally punched him—she'd been startled by a cockroach that had unexpectedly flown towards them. Sakura felt a tad guilty about Neji's black eye, so the walk was a bit awkward, both of them staying quiet and trying their best to bury that incident. Neji winced ever so often, while the pink-haired girl did her best to distract him from the pain.

* * *

 **(Interview)**

 **"These kinds of scenario would always happen to me and I don't know even know why. Could somebody help?**

 **-Neji**

* * *

As they passed the main entrance, they saw some unexpected newcomers.

"Lady Tsunade?" Sakura wondered, watching as her shishou, quickly followed by Shizune, entered the hospital's main entrance.

Sakura headed towards them, Neji not far behind her.

Tsunade seemed like she'd had a bad day, her eyes wholly serious for once. Behind her and Shizune, two more girls strode through the door. Sakura recognized Hanabi Hyuuga, Hinata's little sister, but not the other. She studied the raven-haired girl, noting her red glasses and the fact that she was about the same age as her.

"She looked familiar, Have I seen her before?" Sakura thought. But why? She had never seen the girl in her life, but there was something in the way she carried herself, in the shape of her eyes, that was familiar, somehow.

"Sakura!" Tsunade's stern voice echoed through her ears, snapping her from her thoughts.

"Yes Ma'am!" she said, just barely keeping herself from stuttering.

"Get me a medical kit," Tsunade instructed. She noticed the blood sample in the Sakura's hands. "Whose blood sample is that?"

"Room 205, Ma'am," she replied." The teenage girl to be exact." She added, also wondering why her mentor asked.

Tsunade hummed, simply taking the blood sample from her. "Go get me the blood samples of Naruto and Sasuke too."

Sakura nodded, beckoning for the brown-haired Hyuuga to follow her but the guy raised a hand which means that he was going to join the rest while still holding that small Ice pack on his right eye.

The pink haired teen understood it all since, the punch gave the Hyuuga a little trauma. So she had no choice but head there by herself this time.

As for Tsunade she gave a look and met Sarada's eyes; this DNA test would prove whether or not the girl was telling the truth. Sarada simply nodded, knowing that she had spoken nothing but truth, and soon, she told herself, Tsunade would see it too.

"Don't walk slow!" She raised her voice calling out to the raven haired teen.

Sarada broke out of her trance. "Right!" She ran up to catch with Tsunade and the rest as she began to walk again.

She also noticed the Hyuuga, who somehow had a black eye on his right eye." Are you alright?" She voiced out her concern for the guy.

Neji gave a sigh." Well, it's a long story, but you don't have to worry about me." He assured her with a small smile.

"Okay?" Sarada muttered, giving shrug in the end as all of them headed to the room with the exception of one.

* * *

 **(MEANWHILE)**

As for Sakura stared at the two as they made their way down the hall, away from her.

"What was that about…?" She wondered, her gaze sliding from her mentor to the girl beside her. She wondered yet again about this mystery girl.

"Have I met her before?"

it was then that a sudden head-splitting pain flashed behind her eyes, and she dropped her clipboard and grabbed her head from both sides, falling to her knees, panting. A blurry image of a pair of arms receiving another pair of arms which held a sleeping baby girl covered and wrapped in a bundle of blankets.

Before she could even figure this all out, the pain had stopped and she found herself alone again.

"What was that?" She asked the empty hall in confuse, panting.

* * *

 **(MEANWHILE)**

Back in the room 205, Boruto began to stir, though the girl remained fast asleep.

Boruto slowly opened his eyes, registering how stiff and sore certain parts of his body were. He yawned, slowly standing up and stretching. "I must've fallen asleep," he realized, feeling refreshed and surprisingly well-rested. The TV was off, but the remote remained in Himawari's hand; it looked as though his sister had fallen asleep while watching TV.

He slipped the remote out of the girl's hand, and was about to place it down on the table when the door suddenly opened, shattering the peace in the room.

His eyes widened in surprise as another blonde stepped into the room. He was staring at the Hokage—the fifth Hokage, to be exact, in her prime. She was closely followed by Shizune, Hanabi and Sarada not far behind.

Boruto was shocked that he dropped the remote on the floor, the greeting of "Tsunade-baachan!" slipping from his mouth. He then promptly tripped over the remote and crashed to the ground in a heap of flailing limbs.

Tsunade was not amused by the nickname. Bad enough when Naruto called her that; now, this boy was doing it too?

The thud of Boruto's fall was loud in the previous silence of the room, loud enough to wake the younger Uzumaki. Himawari immediately shot upright, startled, taking a few seconds to gather her thoughts. What had happened before she'd fallen asleep? She scanned her surroundings, a habit born of shinobi paranoia, and was startled as she caught sight of the annoyed-looking blonde standing in the doorway with her arms crossed. Wait, that was the legendary fifth Hokage!

There was a brief silence, Himawari's confusion practically tangible.

"Tsunade-baachan?" She called out the name and said.

Tsunade, already irritated by being called that once today, felt her eye begin to twitch. "For crying out loud," she snapped.

"Stop calling me by that NAME!"

* * *

 **CHAPTER END**

 **AN: Thank you for reading chapter! Thank you also for the favorites and Follows! Much appreciated!**


	11. Arc 1: Finale (Re-edited)

**Disclaimer:**

 **I don't own Naruto. Kishimoto Does.**

 **Author's note: Hey there Readers, I'm back with a new chapter! Although this one is a bit short, so I Hope you guys enjoy!**

 **Take note: Since I am going to be a little busy because School works. I will have to adjust the schedule on updating the story. Maybe a twice or once a week.**

 **Thank you for Understanding:)**

 **Beta Edited by: AbyssDarkness**

* * *

 **Arc 1: Finale**

Sarada rested her head on one of the metallic chairs in a corridor just outside the room where the siblings were in. She was just silent and closed her eyes. She had recapped on what happened during the rest of the afternoon. It was eventful yet tiring for her. Facing the Hokage and doing everything she can to convinced her. The confrontation really drained her physically and a bit mentally. In the end, her efforts were successful, and she was just waiting for the Hokage to do the DNA test. Although, she had to take part of it, even she had shown the Sharingan in front of her. Maybe this was just to make sure that she was really telling the truth.

Sarada took a deep breath to relax. She really needed a nap right now but at this rate, she cannot. She had so many things to do at the moment. She just used this short time to take a little bit of rest. At any minute she would be called by the Hokage inside.

She thought of the Uzumaki siblings who were inside the room conversing with the fifth Hokage." I hope they are alright. She muttered. She was a bit concern about them. This Lady Hokage was different, she still had that strict and serious attitude. She could be interrogating them right now!

Sarada opened her eyes. She rubbed her eyes and then yawned. She was not doing anything good for her to have a good little rest.

"Is something wrong?" The raven-haired teen then heard a familiar voice and she turned to her left and saw Hanabi holding two cups of hot drinks.

"Yeah, I'm fine Aunt Hanabi." Sarada replied but she was obviously looking not alright. She then accepted the cup of hot drink which was revealed to be hot tea this time.

Hanabi just sighed. She then sat down beside the latter. She then took a sip of her hot tea that she bought from the nearby tea house. The Hyuuga girl then stared at the raven-haired teen, she deduced the fact that she is thinking about Lady Hokage again.

"You know if I were you I would be celebrating right now." Hanabi spoke towards the latter.

Sarada then looked up from her drink and then turned to latter and raised her eyebrows in confusion. Why would she say that?

"I mean just think about it. You managed to convince the Hokage by coming along let alone made the duel between you and her a draw." Hanabi explained. She witnessed the whole event unfold, why would she have worried. The outcome turned out to be successful.

"Maybe, she still in a bad mood after that ordeal." Sarada replied. She was thinking the other way. Yes, she did convince the Hokage to come with her, but it also ruined her day and her face will be forever remembered by her as an annoying girl.

Hanabi sighed." Don't think about the fact that she is in a bad mood!" As the latter stood up from her seat and went in front of the latter.

"You didn't have to cause her bad mood, but you did the right thing by showing the truth into her face." Hanabi explained. She was just pointing out the facts.

Sarada was surprised. She was just telling the latter she was a bit afraid of the Hokage of what she can really do to a person when provoked. She did not want to get heated on by a legendary figure in history.

"You don't have to be afraid, you gotta believe in yourself!" Hanabi said. She was trying to lift the girl's spirits. It doesn't make sense on why she should be feeling down.

The raven-haired girl, just stared at the latter. She was just speechless. Who knew this Hyuuga girl can really motivated a person that much. Nobody has seen this before in Hanabi.

Hanabi smiled." You know once this DNA test is over, everyone's gonna owe you apology." She explained. The girl can see the positive outcome in this situation. They just need to be patient that's all.

Suddenly, the door to the room opened. Both girls turned their heads towards the person who came out. It was none other than Shizune who had positive smile on her face.

"Well, Your Sarada is it?" Shizune asked.

Sarada blinked a couple of times before realizing that she was asking for her name." Yes Ma'am." She replied politely.

"Well, Lady Tsunade wants to see you inside." She explained.

Sarada then gave a glanced at the Hyuuga girl who gave her a smile of encouragement. The Uchiha girl then took a deep breath. She then looked at Shizune and nodded at her before she stood up from her seat and headed inside.

Shizune decided to stay outside of the room for a while. She sat down beside the Hyuuga girl's seat. The black haired young woman sighed. She took a deep breath and let out all the tiredness that she had.

"So, what's your problem?" A female voice then asked. The young woman turned to The Hyuuga girl who gave her a look.

Shizune sighed." I think I need a very long vacation." She replied. Of course, who would want to have this job as the assistant now that the slug princess is the Hokage, things became busier in her life. She was turned into a 24/7 Assistant for the rest of her life until a Sixth Hokage come into existence.

She was the apprentice of the Legendary Sannin. An accomplished medic-nin and Jounin. Now she found herself in a situation where every routine is the same for her everyday life. From carrying paperwork to managing the lunch and dinner schedules, and lastly escorting the Hokage to the gambling areas. This wasn't the life that she wanted.

Uncle Dan would be so much disappointed to see this.

It was a whole new other life for young apprentice of the Hokage. Shizune then rested her head on the chair and closed her eyes. She also wondered on who the group of teens are, she felt a strange feeling that she had met them before.

As for Hanabi, she just sighed and proceeded back on her business of drinking her hot tea. She really needed to some peace for a while.

Sakura smiled as she finally found the jackpot that she was looking for. The blood samples of her Blonde and raven-haired teammate. She was currently at the blood storage room in the hospital. She then took the two blood samples that were stored in a cold refrigerator and carefully placed it on a small tray.

She then observed the two blood samples for a while. It's been two and half years and she had not seen these two guys. What were they doing nowadays? Naruto was currently in his training trip with Jiraiya-sensei while Sasuke was in the hands of the missing nin criminal, Orochimaru.

Sakura could only sigh. She gave a downed face. She wondered when she'll ever see them again. The Team has been inactive for two straight years now while the rest of the other teams were still there and taking on missions assigned by the Lady Hokage.

Sensing that she was drowning in her thoughts. She then shook her head as she snapped from reality. She then sighed and closed the still open door of the cold refrigerator.

Heading back towards the room.

* * *

 **(MEANWHILE)**

It was an apparent good and enjoying sight that the raven-haired girl witness inside the room. She did not expect that the siblings would have the power to loosened up the serious Hokage.

Sarada watched the fifth as she continued to laugh with a mix of irritation from the jokes of the Uzumaki siblings that range from different aspects. Jokes such as Tsunade would need a personal punching bag to let out all her frustrations or Tsunade needing a larger table for her paperwork

It was a scene that was impossible for the raven-haired girl. She darted her eyes to her blonde teammate who gave her a winked in return telling her that she should sit back and relax. They can handle this with their power of talk no jutsu.

* * *

 **(MEANWHILE)**

Sakura observed the medical kit that she had brought from the equipment storage. She was wondering why Lady Hokage would do a DNA test right at this moment. She thought it was impossible for the siblings to be related to Naruto and Sasuke. As matter a fact, the blonde Uzumaki had no siblings of his own and Sasuke's only brother had been gone in the village for a very long time.

Unless, Lady Hokage wanted to compare their blood types to the siblings? It was strange right now and speaking of the siblings where do they come from?

When she had arrived at her destination. She found herself staring at Neji and Shizune who were sitting at their respective seats.

"Shizune?" Sakura called out to the dark-haired assistant of the Hokage who had took a brief nap for a while.

Shizune immediately opened her eyes and woke up from her nap. She was not aware that she had fallen asleep for a moment. She then stood up and faced the pink haired girl.

"Sorry about that, I must've fallen asleep hehe." Shizune explained as she gave a nervous smile. She was a bit embarrassed.

"Nah, It's alright, by the way here's the medical kit and the blood samples of the two guys." Sakura said as she handed the medical kit and the small tray containing the two blood samples.

"Thank you so much." Shizune smiled as she took the two objects that the blonde Hokage needed right now. She then entered the room immediately to give the two important things to the Hokage.

As the door closed right in front of her. Silence took over once again. Sakura sighed. Her job was done, and she was free to go home.

"Well I guess my work here is done." Sakura said. As the pink haired teen decided that it was time to go home. She yawned and stretched after a hard day's work. But before she could leave, Neji had called out to her.

"So you're going home already?" The Hyuuga teen asked.

Sakura nodded." Yeah, my shift is over and its probably night time already." She explained as she passed by the older Hyuuga.

Neji just stared at the pink haired teem. It happened so fast that she was now going home. He also noticed that they haven't been home yet, and the old man might be wondering...

As Neji then turned back towards the entrance to the room., He was suddenly met by her cousin's puzzled face.

"Hanabi?" Neji asked." Is everything alright?"

Hanabi, who was about to call her big cousin back inside the room, took noticed of the big black bruised covering the older teen's right eye.

The brown haired Hyuuga raised an eyebrow. Why was she giving him that look? It was strange case that he needed to get the bottom of this right away.

Hanabi then finally spoke." Is it just me or you have a really huge black eye right now?" The Hyuuga girl asked she stared at her big cousin's face.

"Uhmm, I don't wanna talk about it." Neji replied with embarrassment. He did not really want anyone to see his recent black eye. It was a forgettable moment for him. Getting punch in the face because of that stupid cockroach just made him shook his head and cover his face.

The older Hyuuga passed by the girl in silence as he entered the room.

Hanabi could only gave him a confused and puzzled look, before shaking her head.

"What did he gotten himself into this time?"

* * *

 **(Interview)**

 **It often makes me wonder why my cousin always gets himself into weird situations. I mean where the heck did sustained that black eye of his? Don't tell me he gotten into a fight with someone.**

 **-Hanabi**

* * *

 **(LATER ON)**

"Well, shit. He looks like one of Naruto's shadow clones rather than an individual person. Take the scar away and they're practically twins."

It was her first comment by the time she had entered the room. She was greeted by two pairs of cerulean eyes and both voices calling out to her name with a "Baachan" at the end of it.

Tsunade, already irritated by being called that once today, felt her eye begin to twitch. "For crying out loud," she snapped.

"Stop calling me by that NAME!"

She exclaimed, Startling everyone inside.

* * *

 **(Interview)**

 **"I always hated being called by that name, but I guess this time I will let it pass since I found them strangely adorable.**

 **-Tsunade**

* * *

Neji and Hanabi found themselves witnessing what appears to be the most nerve-wrecking yet comical reunion they have ever seen in their lives so far. They could only stand there and watch the events unfold.

With her eyes still fixated on the siblings, She proceeded and first walked up to Boruto, and he gulped. Neji assumed that if Boruto was anything like Naruto, then he too will probably fear Tsunade's presence. Tsunade leaned closer to Boruto and inspected his face with an unreadable expression, her eyes digging deep into his. Suddenly, she pulled herself up and a large syringe appeared in her hand, surprising Boruto and making him jump back.

"Well, I almost believe you now," she told Sarada while walking to a cabinet situated next to the wall to their right and pulled out a rather huge syringe from it after a few moments of searching. "All that's left is the blood sample from him and I'll be on my way."

Boruto carefully raised both of his hands. "Hold up for a second, blood sample? And what's up with this syringe's size?!" He eyed the nightmarish tool nervously with a grin.

Tsunade had already taken the liberty of pulling up his sleeve and purifying the skin underneath it with alcohol. "Hey wait minute! What the hell are you doing Granny?!" Boruto tried to pull his arm away from her, his face losing color by the second.

"Pshh, don't tell me you're afraid of a little blood sample? It's just a small needle," Tsunade gave him an unimpressed look. "So stop being such a little brat and let me stab you with this thing already." A terrifying slightly sadistic smile crept on her face.

"Eh? Did you just say stab?!" Boruto was now trying harder to flee from the Hokage's grasp, though her iron grip did not even allow him to move from his seat. She kept him glued to his place, and his face kept losing color rapidly, now looking more like the white walls behind him other than their normal color.

"Oh come on, You even act like Naruto." Tsunade rolled her eyes. "Stop being a pansy and take the shot like a man."

Boruto wanted to yell at her but held his tongue. It seems shots were definitely something he didn't like. he opened his mouth as if he wanted to say something, but closed it again. inwardly, Neji agreed with his decision. Yelling at Tsunade might not be the smartest move while she's holding a larger than life needle in her hands.

"Pfft," Hanabi giggled at him. "Geez, why are you such a baby.s-

"Hey, you're crossing the line there already!" Boruto replied with annoyance yet his cheeks redden in embarrassment. Neji understood his reaction. Sure, she was his aunt, but to be called both a "baby" by an eleven-year-old is a low no man wanted to stoop to. He has some dignity to maintain as a male.

"Here," she gave him her hand. "You can hold my hand while she's taking the shot." Boruto looked at her surprised. and Neji felt a bit surprised as well. His cousin might be brash at times, but she can really show that compassion when needed and that her sister tended to do.

"What's the hold-up?" Tsunade was losing her patience. "Take her hand already and let me take your blood already!"

"Don't tell me your're vampire too and..…" Boruto murmured at the phrasing of the Hokage, but he took his young aunt's hand nonetheless. Hanabi smiled at him and nodded to Tsunade. Tsunade got closer to his arm, and he braced himself for the sting.

"Hey, knucklehead." Hanabi called him out again. He automatically turned to her, only to be slapped and squished in the face multiple times.

"Dammit!" Boruto touched his cheek with his hand. "What the hell was that for?!"

"Done!" Tsunade exclaimed in triumph, placing a bandaid on where she inserted the syringe.

"Man, That's it?" Boruto was surprised. "But I didn't even feel it,"

Hanabi looked smug. "why do you think I slapped you in the first place?"

"You did it so I won't feel the needle?" Boruto gaze warmed when he looked at her...

"And because it seemed like fun," Hanabi said, placing both hands behind her head as support and shrugged.

..the warm gaze suddenly lost his light became detached.

"Little Auntie," he mumbled with sulking.

"Baby," Hanabi teased once more.

* * *

 **(Interview)**

 **"It was a real struggle for me, that syringe is a stuff of nightmares. No wonder nobody likes to get a shot or get their blood taken at any hospital.**

 **-Boruto**

* * *

"Alright, looks like my work is done here for now." Tsunade gave a sigh and explained. While she held the blood samples.

The second step was to compare and too see if the DNA matches to that of the two guys. She also explained that it might take 2-3 days for the results to come in. Although if it were to happen faster, then that would be a miracle.

She turned to leave, reaching the door before turning back. "I'll have someone bring two folding beds for you two to sleep on," she told Boruto and Sarada. "I'm guessing you wouldn't want to be far from your sister right now." She smiled at them before turning back and leaving.

It was already night time as Neji and Hanabi finally told the guys that it was time for them to go home. They bid farewell to the trio and promised that will come by and visit when they have the time.

"Hey, take care you guys." Neji said as he said good bye to the Uzumaki siblings for a while. The lavender haired girl gave her "Uncle" a big adorable hug thereafter while Boruto shook hands with his young Uncle.

Hanabi smiled as she gave the raven-haired girl a sister's hug. "Be strong Okay?" She said. She told the her that she will be back soon or maybe even tomorrow. The raven-haired girl smiled. She will always remember her advice from now on.

* * *

It was already night time when the two Hyuuga left the hospital. Each of them had wonderful memories of meeting the trio. As for Neji, He enjoyed spending time with the Uzumaki siblings, He felt like they were already his family. As for Hanabi, she also bothered to tell her big cousin the truth but decided that it wasn't the time now.

Boruto sat and rested his on his seat. There was only bed for one person, so he had no choice. He turned his eyes towards his raven-haired teammate who was already fast asleep and was laying on the only small bed that was reserved for a visitor or companion.

He was still waiting for the additional beds.

Boruto smiled. He thought that she deserved a good rest. She had been really exhausted from confronting the Hokage. SDhe did job well enough to convinced her. He then directed eyes to his little sister who was sound asleep in her bed. It was only a matter of time before she will get discharge from the hospital.

The blonde then turned his thoughts about starting a new life in this village, first they're gonna a house or place to stay in, second a job to sustain a stable life and lastly, they will have to cooperate with Lady Hokage for further instructions once the results of DNA test were out.

Right now, there was a possibility for them to be inducted on a team. They were gonna do missions just like the old days.

Boruto sighed, he was starting to get sleepy. He felt that his consciousness was starting to fade away. As he closed his eyes, his last thoughts were.

"I'm still a Shinobi no matter what."

 **(CHAPTER END)**

* * *

 **(Interview)**

 **"I was thinking maybe we could get a good night stay at some awesome inn or hotel. Hospitals really creeped me out by the way.**

 **-Boruto**

* * *

 **AN: Thank you very much for reading the Chapter:)**


	12. Arc 1 Special Chapter: Resolve

**Disclaimer:**

 **I don't own Naruto. Kishimoto Does.**

 **Author's note: Hey there Readers, I'm back with a new chapter! Although this one is a bit short, so I Hope you guys enjoy!**

 **Take note: Since I am going to be a little busy because School works. I will have to adjust the schedule on updating the story. Maybe a twice or once a week.**

 **One more thing, I will be putting any idea of OCs in the story aside. Instead I will be focusing on the main characters and main storyline.**

 **Thank you for Understanding:)**

 **Beta Edited by : AbyssDarkness**

 **P.S: I am just newbie so go easy on me**

 **Special Short Chapter: Tsunade's resolved**

The Job of the Hokage is considered to be one of the most difficult and neck breaking jobs of all time. Difficult because you must take care of an entire village by yourself. Neck breaking because it might break your neck of all day looking down at the hellish stack of paperwork that almost seemed impossibly endless.

Tsunade sighed. The blonde-haired woman yawned and as she rubbed her tired eyes. She hadn't gotten enough sleep for the past few days. She was handling a case that was deemed classified. She was the only one to know about this case except for a handful people. She made them swore that no one will talk about this case to anybody. There are just too many moles and people that are hard to trust in this system.

The case was about a trio of teenagers who came from the future. They arrived in the village a several days ago and managed to set up a meeting with the Hokage herself with the help of an unlikely one Hyuuga girl. To determined that if they were telling the truth, a DNA test was conducted by matching their bloods to that of two certain people. Naruto Uzumaki and Sasuke Uchiha.

Now several days have passed and the results were expected to be released from the public eye. She had to make sure this would stay secret or else old guys like Danzo and his corrupt officials might interfere. The blonde Hokage had apparently sent Shizune to retrieve the results in the hospital at this moment.

Tsunade stopped her hands from writing. She stood up and stretched. She felt that her neck and back were breaking for sitting the whole time. She really needed to stop this habit occasionally.

The blonde haired Hokage then headed to the large open window nearby. She gazed at the beautiful view of the village. The wind was strong but calm enough to send the latter in her thoughts. She thought about that time she met the raven-haired girl for the first time. She saw both Sasuke and her student in her. She had a strong-willed spirit inside and She still doesn't what made her convinced to agree and believed the latter's testimony. She found herself in deep shocked when the girl showed her incredible strength and Sharingan, which only an Uchiha possessed.

It was impossible for girl to have that kind of ability unless she is a long-lost surviving Uchiha. But when she told her the whole story, she began to slowly believe the girl. Even Shizune, looks convinced! They just had to make sure this DNA will settle everything.

She also had met the siblings, which of course were the brat's future children. Who knew Naruto would marry someone and have kids in the future? Their Traits, Physical appearance and Attitude pretty much reminded them of him. When they explained furthermore on how they survived the destruction of the village, she was shocked and saddened. The siblings were left as Orphans. But to all of that, they still managed to maintain a very light mood conversation. She had to admit the siblings were good jokers to be in fact.

Tsunade smiled. A thought came to her that if Naruto were to meet them, what would be the interaction like? Would it be so dramatic, or would it be just a normal meet up? Who knows?

What will be Sarada's reaction when she learns of the real Uchiha history here in the village? Her father a defector and fugitive and her Uncle who was currently a member of a dangerous organization. How would she handle it? There was also Sakura Haruno, her student. Which according to the raven-haired girl, is in fact her mother. It was like 2 surprises combined into one.

The door to main office suddenly opened. Tsunade snapped from her thoughts as she turned around to see Shizune who was back from the hospital and was holding the results of the DNA test which were concealed in an envelope.

"Back so soon Shizune?" Tsunade asked. She was surprised that it did not took a long time for the latter to get the results.

Shizune smiled." Well, if you are gonna conduct a DNA test with the special orders of the Hokage, there is a 100 percent chance of getting it earlier." She explained as she handed the envelope to the blonde-haired woman.

Tsunade made a small smile and shook her head. "Alright let's see what the results are..." The blonde Hokage said as she then carefully opened the envelope revealing the results which were pieces of papers.

There was crucial silence in the main room. Shizune was staring and waiting for the big reveal. She herself too was feeling nervous about the results. On the other hand, Tsunade just kept quiet as she began to read the results from top to bottom. It did not take long when that Sannin's eyes slowly widened in surprised and shocked. The more she read the more she realized that this all nothing but true!

The results revealed a unanimous 100 percent match between the blood of the trio to that of the Uzumaki and Uchiha. It was the biggest revelation that she had witnessed so far. She then darter her eyes to the waiting Shizune and nodded at her.

Shizune's eyes widened. All of these were true, and this was unbelievable. They were really from the future. There was nothing to doubt about the results. These were not forged or faked. These things were authentic and real.

"You've got to be kidding me" Shizune commented. She sat down on of the chairs in the room and thought about this.

There was silence that took over the main room. Thoughts were running around in their minds like a wild wheel. As for Tsunade, she had to act fast right now. She had to protect the trio from any possible threat from now on. It was dangerous for them to interact with anybody in this timeline.

"What now, Lady Hokage?" Shizune asked. She was getting worried about the trio.

Tsunade sighed. There were a lot of options. But the best way for them to be protected is to blend in this world unnoticed and resume their normal lives no matter what. The blonde Hokage observed the results again. She was not going to allow them to be subjected into one of Ibiki's interrogation methods. It was just too much for any human person especially for youngsters like them.

Tsunade sighed yet again. She then looked up the black haired young woman who was still waiting for a response from her... She then gave her smile of confidence and said.

"I have an Idea"

* * *

 **CHAPTER ENDS.**

 **AN: Thank you for reading the short chapter:)**


	13. Arc 1 Special Chapter: Settling Down

**Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto, Mr. Kishimoto Does.**

 **AN: Hello there fellow readers! I am back with a new chapter, well an old chapter which I wrote during the early days of the story before I shelved it.. I must say that fellow author, Snowwaffles, story "Changing Fates" really boost my motivation to write again. Not just the story but the perseverance and determination which can be seen through the chapters which He/She wrote. Because of that, I will try to rewrite the earlier chapters of the story and try to improve them by giving it more detail and maybe add some new scenes and stuff.**

 **Then again, thank you Snowwafles for somewhat inspiring me and Thank you to the readers, who continue to read the story** **. This special chapter is also heavily inspired by a certain chapter in "Changing Fates".**

 **Expect Grammar and Spelling Mistakes.**

 **Enjoy!**

* * *

 **Arc 1 : Settling Down**

What would be your reaction when you suddenly learned that you have a nephew and a niece from the future?

Some say people will freak out about it?

Others say, they will probably just accept it as time passed through.

For Neji, that was not the case. He was in between situations. He already accepted it when his cousin told him about the truth, yet he found himself being thrown in a mixer along with amusement and shock. The Hyuuga currently found himself assisting a certain lavender haired girl towards the exit.

"So, where are we going again?" Neji raised an eyebrow in question as he allowed Himawari to lean on him for support while they were going out of the hospital.

"Well, we received a letter from Granny Tsunade herself." Boruto explained, his lips forming into a small smile." She instructed us to meet her at a restaurant somewhere in the village."

Hanabi, who was walking along with beside him, raised both her eyebrows in surprised." A Restaurant?" She asked." You're joking right?"

Boruto simply shook his head and then gave a slight shrug." Well, according to my personal view Pancake House is a Restaurant!" He said with high confidence.

"Pancake House is a bistro, you dummy!" Sarada spoke this time, sharing her own thoughts.

The blonde gave a playful grin." Wanna bet on it, Sarada-chan?" He replied back with little snicker.

"Idiot." Sarada rolled her eyes and cross her arms." It's still a bistro." She muttered aloud."

"Are they always like this?" Neji, who was just listening from behind the scenes, asked.

Himawari gave a small smile." Well, since they were kids." She simply said. Whenever these two would debate on something, it always ends with either both of them losing to each other. Sometimes her big brother would take the win and at other times, The Uchiha teen was the victor.

Neji could only sigh back. It was no surprised that an Uzumaki and Uchiha would often clashed even in the small arguments. He never really understood that kind of culture. It was strange for him.

* * *

 **(Interview)**

 **"I really have no doubts that the tradition of this Uchiha and Uzumaki rivalry has survived in the future."**

 **-Neji**

 **"I really don't know the purpose of their argument but I really do think Pancake House is a Bistro and Restaurant combined."**

 **-Himawari**

* * *

"So, why would Lady Hokage want to meet you guys at the Bistro?" Hanabi asked, secretly giving a teasing look at her future blonde nephew.

Sarada gave a smirk at her childhood friend, before continuing on with a normal look." Well we're not sure but apparently she wanted to discuss some important matters." She explained.

"I guess it's the whole DNA fiasco thing." Boruto simply said. It was pretty much obvious that the blonde woman was wondering how did the heck that happened. He really can't wait to see that certain reaction from her.

Sarada nodded." And I think it's also includes, helping us settle down here in the village properly." She added.

The lavender haired girl simply nodded. "I think it's nice of her to do it for us." Himawari smiled as she tried to straighten up while walking. Neji eyed her worriedly, holding her like she was made of glass, and jumping at any signs of discomfort she showed.

"So you mean, she's gonna buy you a house or maybe an apartment?" Hanabi asked Boruto looking at him over her shoulder. She and Sarada were walking a bit ahead of them.

"Hmm…" Boruto crunched his face. "I think so." He was really hoping for that.

"Well, I hope she could help us with the rent. " Sarada noted as they walked slowly through the streets of Konoha. " At least for a couple of months, we could find jobs for ourselves and pay the rent." She added.

Jobs? What about being a shinobi?" Neji asked her. "You could earn money that way as well."

Boruto chuckled at that. "I don't know, being a shinobi isn't something I want to think about right now." His hand touched his weapon pouch for a second before falling back to his side. "I'd like to adjust to living here for a while before I start thinking about going back to active duty."

He had ideas already forming inside his mind.

"Yeah," Sarada nodded. "Same goes for me. Though I might take on an internship in the hospital at some point as well, if Lady Tsunade is willing to accept." She said before sighing." But, I guess I'm gonna start working at something simple first."

"Oh, you're training to be a medical ninja, Sarada?" Hanabi asked the raven-haired girl.

"Yeah, " Sarada said. "Mama did trained me to get that medic diploma for a few years. I eventually graduated, but I think I might ask Lady Tsunade to train this time since you know...she gave a little chuckle stopped mid-sentence and faded into silence, but everyone understood what she was telling.

"So you're telling me that Sakura became the head of the Hospital and is one of the most respected Medic-nin in the village?" Neji spoke this time. He wondered on how the pink haired teen had reached that level.

Sarada simply nodded, yet gave an slight uneasy gulped." Well, I guess "Nation" would be the right word to replace "Village." She clarified and corrected the Hyuuga.

Neji became even more speechless as ever. It was just unbelievable for the pink haired teen to become a higher and respectable person compare to what she is currently now. A simple girl, with a simple dream of serving her own village.

Sarada gave a little shrug. Her thoughts were alive at the same time. Deep down inside, there was this little jealousy since she was often overshadowed by her mother's own legacy.

* * *

 **(Interview)**

 **"Well, we were very excited as we imagine the jobs that we would take in the nearby future. Sarada wanted work in the Hospital and I think I would end up working as Chef or something.**

 **\- Boruto**

 **"I wanted to be a part of Medic-nin crew but at this point it won't be easy because of the current situation at hand. As for Himawari, I'm not really sure though."**

 **-Sarada.**

* * *

What about you Himawari?" Hanabi spoke this time, changing the subject so swiftly. "What do you plan on doing now?"

Himawari looked deep in thought for a moment. She wondered if she should really get her own job or maybe something else." Well, I haven't really decided yet but I'm looking forward to something more simple." She said.

"What do you mean by simple, Hima-chan?" Boruto asked her.

"Yup!" Himawari smiled proudly. "I can be an apartment designer and caretaker!" She said as she was already planning on how will she decorate their new home." Maybe I could give it a little dose of Hair ornaments, Vases, New wallpapers, and of course give the place a refreshing smell!" She added.

Neji sweat-dropped. "Wait, How did hair ornaments and Vases get mixed into the list…?" He asked. Himawari shrugged, clearly not bothered by his question. Hanabi, Sarada, and Boruto laughed at that.

"Say, Himawari," Hanabi said. "You were a ninja too in your time right?"

Himawari stopped in her tracks in seem to give it a thought. " Well, I'm not sure," she admitted. "Sure, I could fight like any other ninja, but I never went to the academy, or was assigned to any team."

Sarada tilted her head to the side. "But you did go on missions," she pointed out. "Missions officially assigned from the Hokage."

"Yeah, but that was because of…" Himawari stopped mid-protest and only gave a simple gesture. "So basically, it's a no, I wasn't a shinobi of the village." She told Hanabi and then chuckled. "I didn't even have my own headband to begin with!" She smiled.

With that, she continued her journey walking forward, Neji supporting her in her shaky steps. Boruto made sure to walk around the same pace as them, to make sure that if his sister tripped he would be able to catch her. Hanabi and Sarada saw a row of sweet and cafe shops ahead and the former dragged the latter over to the shop window to look at cakes and other food.

It was also at this time that the Uchiha teen finally had the idea on the job that she was gonna take.

It was around mid morning, and the streets were getting beginning to get busier due to the rising ambience. Boruto watched the people around them. Families out shopping and bonding. Merchants selling their goods. Shop owners arguing and yelling with each other or with the customers. Everything seemed so… peaceful. So Konoha-like. It made him smile softly.

It was at this time that a series of growling sounds, Particularly stomach growls began to plague them, especially for the Uzumaki siblings. Eventually, their long walking had finally paid off as they finally reached their destination.

* * *

 **(BREAKFAST CLUB)**

"Looks like we are here!" Boruto announced to the group.

They found themselves staring at a certain food establishment, Particularly a Bistro, a breakfast bistro which had the sign "Pancake House" displayed in front of the entrance. The outside appearance of the Bistro itself looked modernish since it wa actually one of the first establishments to have a modern flavour to it compare to the old designs of the other food establishments.

As the group of observed the place once more, Sarada immediately noticed a shade of blonde from one of the seats inside the bistro itself. She widened her eyes in surprised as she immediately recognized the person.

"Isn't that Lady Tsunade drinking coffee inside the shop?" Sarada asked. She was so sure that the blonde woman inside was indeed the Hokage.

"You're right, that's Granny over there!" Boruto said.

Sarada gave a simple nod." Well, I guess we get going now and-"

Hanabi grabbed Sarada by the arm(again) and started dragging her and Boruto ahead, leading them through the streets of Konoha with Neji and Himawari following.

They finally reached the said shop, which all of them thought was very modernish and entered inside. It was a simple small bistro with rectangular tables and grand chairs. They had a food display window near the cash register and entrance. There were around four customers in the bistro. two reading the newspaper and the other two having a conversation.

Sarada scanned the whole area in search of blonde Hokage and found her sitting on a long seater table beside the window still drinking her coffee.

They made their way towards the area where the Hokage was located and It didn't took long enough for them to reach there.

* * *

 **(Interview)**

 **"We were quite surprised that Lady Tsunade would be waiting for us there. Not all Hokage had the free time compare to hers.**

 **-Sarada**

* * *

"Granny Tsunade!" Both Boruto and Himawari greeted the blonde woman like they were meeting a family member.

As for Tsunade herself, her eye twitched and her ears reddened by the time she heard that forbidden name again. She immediately recognized their voices and proceeded to calm herself down. She then looked to see the two little rascals greeting her with their signature grins and the blonde woman gave a small smile.

"Good morning, Lady Tsunade!" Sarada greeted too.

"Looks like you guys made it." Tsunade commented before darting her eyes towards the other two Hyuugas." As expected, I knew you two would be coming also since you already knew their secret." She added.

Neji and Hanabi stayed silent but both gave a simple nod of understanding. They automatically tasked of keeping everything in secret. This was also somewhat a classified meeting in the middle of a quiet bistro.

"Well, I already have my coffee but feel free to order any food you like!" Tsunade the broke the brief silence." It's my treat!" She added.

"Are serious Granny?" Boruto asked. His eyes widened in surprised.

Tsunade's eye twitched again." Yes, I'm serious." She said, trying her best to keep calm as possible. She had no choice this was her distant grandson from the future that she was talking.

The rest had somewhat the same reaction. Sarada was glad since she could order her most favorite and costly meal in the bistro. Himawari was excited since she could order as many as she wanted while the Hyuuga cousins where sighing in relief since they could still save their money in the bank.

Neji helped Himawari sit down before taking a seat next to her, grabbing a menu and reading over the options. Sitting on Himawari's other side, Boruto opened a menu himself and glanced over it. There weren't many options, and the light peach pages were all decorated with cute stickers and pictures of certain dishes.

It was at this time that the waitress had finally arrived. Holding a pen and small notepad. "Have you decided what to order yet?" She asked.

"Hmm… everything looks so good it's hard to decide," Sarada glanced over Boruto's shoulder to his menu. "I think I'll have the Grilled Cheese and a Red Ice tea for my drinks.

"Alright," the waitress wrote the order down. "What about you guys?"

"I'll have the golden brown waffles, Thank you very much." Neji all but informed the waitress with a stoic face as he closed his menu with one swift movement.

"R-right…" the waitress seemed a bit frightened at Neji's sudden cold exterior and serious expression that didn't seem fit for a cutesy café like this one.

"I'll have cinnamon flavoured Pancakes," Himawari told the waitress with a wide smile.

"Cinnamon Pancakes?" The waitress repeated after her. "You mean, sets of them?"

"Yes." Himawari nodded, her happy demeanor shifting into a serious one. "Just bring me as many as you can carry."

"A-alright then…" the waitress was seriously frightened by now. "What about you, s-sir?" She asked Boruto.

"I'll have set meal of your delicious original Pancakes," Boruto answered with confidence.

"One Original Pancake set meal, then." She wrote down his order. "And what about something to drink?"

"Just water, please."

The waitress then turned to Hanabi. As she was about to open her mouth and asked, the Hyuuga girl had managed to beat her into it." I'll have the Tuna sandwich, and a glass of Pineapple Juice!" She smiled.

"Okay," she closed her notepad. "I'll bring your food to you shortly!" She hurried off, still a bit shaken by their orders.

Hanabi laughed at the waitress' slowly distancing body. "Honestly, Neji-niisan," she turned to her cousin. "I get that you're excited to eat your favorite food, but that doesn't mean you need to scare the poor waitress because of it."

"Wait," Sarada raised her hand. "He looks like this when he's excited?"

"Yeah," Hanabi nodded. "It's kinda hard to tell if you don't know him very well."

"Do I really look that scary?" Neji asked worriedly. He thought he had practiced the right expression.

Himawari placed her chin on her palm as she leaned her elbow on the table. "I don't think you look scary."

"Of course you would think that," Boruto gave a little chuckle placing his hands behind his head. "You can look a monster in the eye and think it's cute."

"Some monsters are cute!" Himawari protested.

Boruto patted her head. "Sure they are."

"Boruto, are you perhaps not good with horror stuff?" Neji asked his nephew." Or maybe watched horror movies before?"

Boruto's cheeks reddened. "No!" He still had that traumatic memory of getting jumpscared multiple times when tried watching a marathon with his little sister.

Himawari laughed at that. "He's lying," she said. "Onii-chan is the absolute worse when it comes to horror movies or books." She said." He often hates getting jumpscared." She snickered while the rest reacted.

"Am not!"

"Yes you are"

"Am Not!"

"Smack!"

"Sarada! What'd you hit me for?!" Boruto rubbed the now sore spot on the back of his head.

"You were being way too noisy," Sarada told him. "Someone had to shut you up."

"So you just had to smack me on the head?" He asked her, feeling betrayed.

"Well, I didn't have to hit you…" Sarada said slowly. "But it just seemed like a much funnier way to make you quiet down, so I went for it."

"You…" Boruto's unfinished sentence managed to convey his annoyance at his friend's lax way of telling him that it's fun to hit him.

Himawari and Hanabi laughed at that scene, and Neji just watched the Uchiha and Uzumaki and silence, a somewhat nostalgic look in his eyes.

* * *

 **(Interview)**

 **"It felt like I was watching Team seven in front me, It was really weird yet nostalgic at the same time."**

 **-Neji**

* * *

Boruto noticed the look and turned to the Hyūga. "What is it?" He asked.

"It's nothing," Neji replied. "It just… you two reminded me of your parents. It was like watching the old Team 7 again."

Boruto laughed at that. "You have no idea how many times I heard that before," he said. "I mean, people say that I'm basically my dad but more smarter and calmer than he was at my age." His smile disappeared for a second before coming back, though a bit smaller this time.

"You think so?" Neji asked. "I mean, you do look very similar to each other, and your personalities are alike, but I don't think you're the same as Naruto."

Boruto gave a thumbs up. He always been compared to his dad many times before. He was often living in his shadow since the old man was the famous and revered Seventh Hokage. He knew the history of his old man saving the entire world from an all power bunny enemy and a guy from the moon. Many of his friends and even people from other villages knew the hero, that was his old man. As for the blonde himself, He was stuck in comparison, which led him to their strained relationship before.

Hearing his Uncle Neji telling him that he was different from his old man was a sigh of relief. He was glad that there was someone, who could see the through the whole picture.

It was this time that Tsunade entered the conversation and spoke." I think you're more a brat than Naruto." She gave her own comment with a little smirked.

Boruto widened his eyes in surprised. He was amused by the older blonde's comment." Exactly Granny! I am more bratter than my old man!" He said proudly, which caused the others to laugh.

"I really want to redesign the Hokage faces again." Boruto added, scratching up his chin and wondering.

Tsunade's eye twitched once more but this time she forced a smile." How wonderful!" She said with a little sarcasm.

Boruto gave out a chuckle. He raised a hand and offered a high five to which Tsunade just recklessly accepted but this time she responded with a much more tough high five by smacking the blonde's hand harder.

"Ouch!" Boruto cringed yet kept that smile on.

Tsunade gave a little smirk again." Yeah, That was nice!" She gave a comment, while the others were just laughing.

Here's your food!" The waitress has reappeared and placed down their plates and drinks. "This is everything, so please eat up and enjoy!"

"Thank you!" Himawari made sure to thank her before turning to the plate full of Cinnamon flavoured Pancakes in front of her. Her gaze reminded Boruto of a hungry Hyena waiting to devour the prey.

Neji dug into his Golden Brown Waffles with a unique expression which was the combination of stoic and delighted, creating a rather weird look on his face.

Hanabi, who had ordered a Tuna Sandwhich meal was simply enjoying it. Sarada bit into her grilled cheese with joy and Boruto, who had gotten his Original Pancake meal, ate it with small bites at the time, savoring the flavor rather than just attacking the food as his sister did. Honestly, she scared the living daylight of the poor waitress when she saw the former eat her cinnamon Pancakes as she left.

Tsunade, who was watching them eat their breakfast, continued to sip her hot coffee. She arrived at this place an hour earlier and had been thinking of a way to start a discussion regarding the DNA test and other plans.

She cleared her throat getting the attention of the rest. "So, the test results came back," she said, attracting Boruto's attention. "It looks like you weren't lying when you said you were Naruto's brats."

Boruto laughed at that. "Well, I wouldn't ever lie about being the old man's kid?" He asked the Hokage.

Tsunade laughed at his comment. "So in the future, Naruto's an old man?" She felt bizarre talking about it. "And he calls me grandma, that idiot."

"He still calls you that in my time," Boruto told her. "Or at least, he used to…" he got quiet all of a sudden, and Tsunade understood. Apparently, Sarada had briefly told the older blonde woman what happened in the future, about how the village was attacked and destroyed, and everyone was killed except for the trio who managed to survived.

She sighed and patted Boruto's back. He turned to look at her, surprised, and she gave him a small smile. Still surprised, the corner of his mouth raised a little bit, and his sad posture went back to a lax one.

* * *

 **(Interview)**

 **"There was still things that I wasn't aware off. The stories that these kids were telling me, it felt as if it really did happened."**

 **-Tsunade**

* * *

"So," she had decided to change the topic. "What are you going to do now?"

Boruto leaned on his chair and took a deep breath." Well, three of us wanted to stay here in the village and start a fresh new chapter." He explained." Konoha is our home, and it will always will be no matter what era it is." He added." So we would like to asked your permission if we could stay here."

There was silence that took over. Everyone was all eyes on the teenage blonde. Himawari and Sarada were glancing at two blondes back and forth, they were really hoping that the older blonde woman would accept the permission. The Hyuuga cousins were also anticipating the outcome and they wanted the trio to stay here.

As for Tsunade, it only took less than ten seconds for her decide. She gave a deep breath and gave them a look." Well, there is this nice apartment located somewhere in the district and is near one of my favorite bars." She explained." It's pretty much cheap and spacey.

It was at that moment everyone's eyes lit up and all of them rejoiced much to the weird looks that they were receiving from the other customers.

 _"Thank you so much Lady Tsunade!"_

 _"You're a blessing from heaven Granny!"_

 _"I will vote for you, if there is any election Lady Hokage_!"

The praises were too much already for the blonde Hokage. She could only gave a sigh. Although, she didn't expect that noises would die down early as a sign of respect and manners.

* * *

 **(Interview)**

 **"We were all very happy when Granny Tsunade told us that we were welcomed to stay. It really was heart touching since we really needed a home."**

 **-Himawari**

* * *

She then continued.

"I guess that if I were to rent that place for a couple of months, I'd have a place like that," Tsunade paused." But The thing is, Shizune doesn't like it when I disappear on my own. So even if I were to stay there, I wouldn't be able to live there. What a shame" She sent them a smirk. "So if I were to rent it, I would give the key to someone else, they'll be able to live there for the first two months I paid for and start their lives there." She smiled at the trio.

"Wouldn't that be nice?"

Everybody had a smile on their, especially for Boruto. Tsunade could see that there was a hidden sadness beyond that eye and the large scar on his other eye helped with increasing the sorrow that seems to have settled behind Boruto's happy gaze. She gave a slight sad smile. The kid was so young, yet he already has been through a war, although she didn't knew how big of a war that was and lost many people dear to him. If she could help him regain even some bits of happiness by helping him stay in the village with his sister and friend, so be it.

She then gazed at the Hyuuga siblings, catching their attention." Well, since you already know their secret." She briefly paused." I entrust you that you would take care of the trio and watch over them." She said, as if she was instructing them to follow the order.

Finally finishing her coffee and getting up, she stretched her arms above her head. "Well, I'm off," she told him. "The apartment is not going to rent itself."

Boruto raised an eyebrow. "Yeah, isn't that the whole point?" He gave out a question as he munch his pancake.

Tsunade amused, turned to face him fully and ruffled his blond locks. "So you've got yourself a smart mouth, huh?"

Boruto laughed at the comment and seemed a bit bashful as he scratched the back of his head, though a trace of a smirk was seen on his lips.

"Anyway, I'll have Shizune come and get you to see the apartment later today, so meet her later at Evergreen Street." She started to walk towards the exit.. "I'll give her descriptions of you, but just don't make it tough for her."

Yeah, sure thing."

As she was about to leave, she was suddenly called yet again.

"Granny?" Her twitched for the final time but she managed to calm herself down and turned around. "Alright, what is it you want to-" She was cut half through as she found herself suddenly being embraced by the lavender haired teen, who stood up as she was about to walk away.

Himawari smiled as she gave the blonde woman a hug as a sign of a thanks." Thank you, Granny!" She said.

Tsunade was surprised by her move and she slightly returned the hug back and pat the girl on the back. She then gazed at the other two and found herself staring at the eyes of gratitude and sadness. She was beginning to realized that it was a good thing that she could help people but not just people, but a family to which she somehow cared for.

All she could do was smile back, and wave as she turned back and made her way to where the apartment building was.

She was going to get that place for them, even if she has to break something for it.

Somewhere else, an innocent landlord felt a sudden chill running down through his spine.

* * *

 **(Interview)**

 **"Well, they were just kids to begin with. They deserved to live a normal and peaceful life. Far away from any trouble.**

 **-Tsuna** **de**

* * *

 **(LATER ON)**

As the day continued on. The group found themselves walking along the main district of the village. It was during this time that a lot of people were already on the streets. The crowd was forming and the atmosphere was perfect since the time has called up for Hanabi to spend some of her money in the name of shopping.

Like any kind of montage, the shopping spree had began. The girls were everywhere as they mainly focus on clothing and more clothing. The whole idea, which came from Hanabi was that she and big cousin would be spending their budget on buying clothes for the trio since theirs were already worn out.

Boruto and Neji, sweats dropped. They pretty much understood it all but were helpless this point. They were turned into literal human carriers as they found themselves carrying a huge of number of shopping bags and it was getting already heavy everytime they enter shop by shop.

The good thing about the shopping spree was that they were given ultimate freedom of choosing their style of clothing. Boruto preferred the usual black and red attire while Neji focused more on buying out civilian clothes and secretly some attire for his occasional costume events.

The group also spend their time hanging out in the village's local arcade. trying and playing every game machine that they stumbled upon. The climax of it was the Photobooth and the group immediately headed there and posted for more than twenty photos.

Some of the photos include, Himawari and Boruto drewing out peace signs with the Hyuuga cousins. Sarada secretly leaning on the blonde's shoulder with a smile. Every photo printed symbolizes a new memory, created and formed between the time travelling trio and the Hyuuga cousins.

It was a day to remember for the rest. Especially, for the trio since they haven't spend their most of their time enjoying because of the war back home.

Their time of enjoying and bonding ended on a very high note.

* * *

 **(Interview)**

 **"Neji and I really enjoyed spending time with them. We were like the coolest family ever!**

 **-Hanabi**

* * *

 **(LATER ON)**

As the mid afternoon finally arrived. The group found themselves heading towards the street where the apartment was. They weren't expecting it to be located somewhere far away from the main busy districts.

The journey to the apartment was not a long one. It was only filled with occasional conversations and sightseeing. Boruto was in awe as he observed his surroundings even more. The village, the streets, and the ambience in entirety, Everything looked much… retro, than it did in his time. The flashing lights and blinking signs he was used to were instead replaced with wooden signs and soft-lit street lamps. In all honesty, he found that much more relaxing than his ever so bustling village with the neon lights everywhere at any time.

Himawari was in the same thoughts as her big brother. She was wondering about the location of their current house back in the future. What did the area looked like before their time? Was it just a piece of vacant field?

Sarada on the other hand, was wondering about the location of the famous and still abandoned Uchiha compound. Back in her time, the whole place was turned into a museum to commemorate the anniversary of the deadly massacre that took place there. Maybe if they finally settled down, she can search for that place of her clan's heritage.

* * *

 **(Interview)**

 **"It's a very different vibe when you're in the Past. Everything was just so simple and nostalgic.**

 **-Boruto**

 **"It was very surreal for me, I thought I was a tourist or something.**

 **-Himawari**

* * *

The apartment building was in one of the more distant streets located in the peaceful street of Evergreen and few walking distances away from the local market and the Hokage mountain.

Himawari was skipping excitedly the whole way there, jumping and turning while at it. Boruto watched the road and tried to memorize it by engraving certain objects and houses in his mind as he walked past them. Sarada and Hanabi engaged on a conversation as they talked about Medical Ninjutsu, which the Hyuuga girl was curious to learn and had forgotten about the rest of the world. A light breeze had begun, fluttering on his face while he walked, flowing through his hair and making his clothes rustle.

They found themselves being led them through a maze of streets and houses, locating the street itself. After awhile of searching, they finally arrived.

His cerulean eyes finally caught a shade of brown haired standing near the middle of the street sign, "Evergreen St."

Shizune-san!" He called out and lifted his right hand in a greeting. She noticed him and looked like she was breathing a sigh of relief before making her way to their group.

"Are you Boruto?" She asked him once she arrived. Sarada made her way to stand next to him, scanning Shizune with her gaze.

"Yeah," Boruto smiled at her. "Did Granny Tsunade send you?"

"Tsunade-sama did send me here, yes," Shizune nodded. "She had told me about your… situation. I am to guide you to the apartment she had rented for you and show you around."

The trio nodded in understading as they decided to follow the brown haired lady towards the apartment.

As for Neji and Hanabi, they decided to go along as well since they still have the time and the sun hadn't set yet. The Hyuuga girl was overjoyed as she always wanted an apartment of her own when she grows up. Neji, on the other hand, was sticking to his job of looking out for his cousin's safety.

* * *

The apartment building was a five floor building with stairs leading five doors on each floor. It was quite a large building, clearly meant to house a large number of people. Shizune had started to climb up the stairs to the last floor, and they followed. the fifth floor had a safety rail on the side to make sure nobody fell from it. As the walked down the hall, Boruto's hand fluttered over the rail, feeling the cold metal against his fingers. Shizune got to the last door on the floor and pulled out a key, unlocking the door.

Opening it wide, she went in and signaled them to follow her. They went in the door, wondering what's on its other end.

What was revealed to them was a big wooden floor before them, with a place to remove their shoes in the entrance before going into the apartment itself. Removing their shoes, they made their way onto the wooden floor. On their left, there was a corridor leading to two closed doors, two one next to the other, and one in front of them. To their right was a small kitchen with a counter which had two small wooden stools and a table fit for four with four wooden chairs. In front of them, was a small living room area, already equipped with a tiny light purple couch, a purple arm chair, and wo big cabinets.

There was also a partition with spirals drawn on it separated between the kitchen and the living room, leaving just enough space for a person to walk between them. Lastly, there was a door located in the laundry area where a small balcony stood.

Hanabi was in awe as she explored every bit of the aparment unit. This was the first time that she had ever been into a big unit. The whole thing itself was the size of of houses back in the Hyuuga compound. Neji, on the other hand simply sat on the purple armchair to rest for the time being.

* * *

 **(Interview)**

 **"The Apartment was already alright for the three of us. It was this simple, newish unit that would be a good fit for new movers like us.**

 **-Boruto**

 **"I was pretty much excited to live in our new home, I was eager to redecorate the whole place.**

 **-Himawari**

* * *

Shizune walked further in as the other three just stood and stared into the apartment from their place on the crossing between corridors. "So," she said nervously. "Do you like it? Tsunade-sama had already added a few furniture she found in storage and didn't have use for anymore."

"That's cool!" Boruto commented.

Shizune nodded before clapping her hands. "I almost forgot," she searched through her pocket before bringing out a white envelope which seemed to be full. "She also gave me this to give you. It's some money to buy food and necessities, maybe even furniture, until you can get a job and pay for it yourselves."

Boruto' eyes widened in surprised. He took the envelope from Shizune and looked at it. It was much heavier than he expected and seemed to be stuffed so much there was no room for air in the envelope. He gave a a smile as he imagined the blonde woman stuffing banknotes into an envelope and then trying to close it.

"Um…" Shizune had tried to get their attention. "Is everything okay? You haven't said anything ever since you entered."

Himawari sniffed beside him. Looking to her, he saw her wiping her eyes. "It's, it's perfect," she said, looking around in awe. "Everything here is so perfect. I love it!"

"Yeah," Sarada nodded. "Me too."

"Me too!" Hanabi joined in the mixed, before noticing Neji giving her a slight puzzled and stern look.

"Thank you, Shizune-san." Boruto said.

"Oh, no need to thank me," Shizune waved her hands nervously. "I'm just the messenger. Tsunade-sama was the one who did everything else."

"Then, tell her to come to visit as soon as she can," Boruto smiled at the Hokage's aid. "So we can thank her in person."

Shizune smiled back at him and nodded. "Will do! I'll make sure she comes to visit you three!"

Sarada approached Shizune and gave her a quick hug. " You should come too, Shizune-san. Thank you"

Shizune seemed surprised, but returned the hug, smiling softly. "No problem, Sarada," she said. "Just tell me if there's anything you need. I'll help you."

"Will do," Sarada released the woman from her hug. "Thank you again."

Shizune smiled at her, before turning to Boruto. "There are some blankets and pillows in one of the closets, and the electricity and water will be connected a little later." She explained.

"There are also some instant noodles and canned food in the cabinet, but I highly recommend eating fresh food rather than the instant things." She added, before drawing out three metallic objects.

"Oh, and here are the keys." She then placed three identical keys in Boruto's palm. "I have to get back to Lady Tsunade now, but I'll come by and check on you when they connect the electricity."

Boruto nodded. "Thank you, Shizune-san."

She waved him off. "Not at all," making her way past him, she bent down and wore her shoes before getting back up. "Goodbye, take care of yourself." She told them and waved before exiting the apartment and closing the door behind her.

Silence then overtook the whole unit thereafter. There was a feeling of peace and relief as their journey had finally ended. They were finally given the signal to start their lives once again.

It was this time that Himawari began to cry as she released her emotions once more. The feeling and the thought of starting a life again far away from the life she previously lived and the absence of her dear loved ones. It was going to be tough.

Neji and Hanabi immediately headed to the lavender haired teen. The Hyuuga girl pulled her into a huge embraced and comforted her. "It's alright Hima, you can let it go." She said.

Boruto and Sarada both gave a sad smile. They too felt the emotion and understood the situation. To all the things they have been through lately, this was going to be a tough one, a tough time to adjust and moved on.

Yet, they have no choice.

* * *

 **(Interview)**

 **"Even though, we already have gone through the tragic events, the memories were still fresh in our minds. We really vowed to ourselves that we will at least try moved on from that."**

 **-Sarada**

 **"Me and Neji really understood on what they were going through. We promised to ourselves that we will look after them no matter what."**

 **-Hanabi**

* * *

 **(LATER ON)**

It was it when late afternoon arrived that Neji and Hanabi had to leave and bid there farewell. The trio found themselves outside of the apartment having their last conversations before they went their separate ways.

"Take care you guys." Hanabi said, as she gave Himawari and Sarada hug.

The lavender haired teen smiled." Please do come and visit us anytime, Auntie." She replied. She was already comfortable in calling her by that name.

"Thank you for you helping us, Auntie." Sarada added, she too gave the girl a hug.

The same did do for Hanabi besides being now comfortable on being called "Auntie". in just two days, she had gotten to know more about her niece and nephew. It was actually heart-touching since she now had actual people where can spend time with and talk to.

Meanwhile, For Neji and Boruto, both Uncle and Nephew exchanged their goodbyes. They even shared advices to each other with Neji giving the most of the advices regarding on coping and moving on. The blonde took this to the heart and will make sure that this new life would continue on peaceful.

As the two finally left the place, the trio found themselves staring at the beautiful sunset. It did somehow symbolized the ending of an old chapter and the start of a new one.

* * *

 **(LATER ON)**

Boruto collapsed in exhaustion as he laid down on his bed. His eyes automatically moved towards the window near him. Gazing at the beautiful night sky and the moon, a sense of peace took over him. He found himself between the boundaries of slumber and waking as his thoughts overtook him for the first time.

The first thing his mind did was recapped the events that had transpired over the course of several days.

A LOT had happened.

He can't even count the number of the events that he had gone through, with the exception of Himawari's spring cleaning session which ended a couple of hours ago. How he was push to the core as he battled the dust and dirt that reigned over this apartment for a long time. Not just them but also the nightmarish toilet of doom to which he often despise. There was also empty bottles of Sake which he found in the storage.

His suspicions were actually true about Granny Hokage sneaking in occasionally.

He remembered his little sister being the commander and General during that cleaning session. She wanted the dirt and dust to be eliminated as possible. She wanted every spot cleaned and made sure that the whole unit would the refreshing feel. He could still smell the lemony smell of the soap he used to clean the bathroom even though he had washed his hands around four times already.

It was hell alright, but he did eventually enjoyed it no matter what. It was more fun than throwing off the garbage outside.

The room that he was in right now, was the smallest room in the whole unit. The other room was more bigger compare to where he was now and He reluctantly gave the room to the two girls so that they can their own big space.

A smile formed around lips. He adjusted and stacked a number of pillows and rested on them. His eyes still concentrated on the night sky. Outside, the moon had broken out of the clouds and was now shining through his window, illuminating the entire room and a certain Katana, black cloaked, and rusty Konoha Headband which were placed on a nearby chair next to a nearby small table.

His thoughts continued once again, this time as he looked back on the time during his final confrontation with Kawaki and the eventual destruction of his home. His felt the pain resurface in his chest after a long time as he felt his emotion being released like lions inside a cage.

For about a couple of minutes, he stayed there crying. It must've been years since he cried. He had to kept that serious and strong character for his loved ones during the times of trouble. It was just the right time for him to be emotional and he had the complete freedom to do so.

He stared at the moonlight once more and gave a smile." Thank you, Kami-sama." He whispered aloud. He had been into different kinds of challenges, all of them were tough as anything they could be. He never knew that he would eventually overcome those challenges to begin with and it's all because of his strong faith.

Boruto wasn't sure on how he would handle the challenges ahead of him or if he was still capable of doing it. Although, despite all of the hindrances thrown at him, he won't give up no matter what it takes.

He gave a deep breath, As he finally released all of his emotions. Soon, he felt his consciousness slowly drifting away as the natural coldness of the room took over. Boruto laid there once more gazing at the moonlight sky before his eyes slowly shut down.

By the time he was on the verge of slumber, he let out a smile and wondered for the last time.

"Could all of this be just a dream?"

* * *

 **(Interview)**

 **"I wondered if all of this was just part of my crazy dreams. I guess played too much video games back then, maybe I woke up, I would be back in my old room. Although, it was just a reality that I'm hoping for.**

* * *

 **(MEANWHILE)**

It was a quiet night. The cold breeze of the wind along with the rustling of the trees made it a sight for a certain man. He stared at the raging but calm bonfire and watched how it lit up the area. Jiraiya sighed. They just started their journey on their way back to village after all these two years. He supposed that this long training trip was enough for the blonde to handle the future dangers that he will have to face.

The Akatsuki were on the move, Orochimaru's group was also planning something big. There were a lot of enemies waiting to strike. It was only a matter of time that they will be targeting the blonde's head and his power inside. Although, A few of his investigations revealed that there was more to this than meets the eye. There was a far more larger conspiracy and indeed that there was something behind of all these. He was getting there but it will be a very difficult task. Who knows what might he discover.

Jiraiya then darted his eyes to the sleeping blonde. He really had grown up. He almost looked like his father. The white haired sannin then looked up at the night sky. When will all these conflicts end? Will he be the child of prophecy that will bring lasting peace to this world?

Will He be enough for the storm that was to come in the near future?

The white haired Sannin sighed yet again. He had been feeling restless lately, He doesn't even know why? There was a little bit of worry growing inside the man.

There were just a lot of enemies from every corner. It was his job to continue watch over what they were planning and bring the classified information to the village or any ally. He also had a big communication sytem where he could spread out his connection to the other people that he knew in other villages, they were very much helpful on gaining information that he was unaware.

But recently, there had been some strange news that he had heard from his communications with his connections. Certain People were mysteriously disappearing out of thin air. There was really no logical explanation but according to the source of information, The certain people that disappeared were either, abducted or salvage. They were never seen again.

The white haired Sannin took a sip of his hot coffee. He then recalled a case that he investigated not too long ago. There were these few scattered small villages that existed in the elemental nations that worshipped some kind of being called "The Enlightened One." It was not a well known idol for many but the villagers claimed that these was being so powerful that it rivalled the power of Kami-sama himself. This " Enlightened One" also had guardians which were tasked to do every bidding that he wished to do. No one knows the origins of this guardians except that they were a group of cruel and fierce people.

This case fascinated the white haired Sannin himself, He also planned on visiting one of these small villages but it was too late. These small villages suddenly disappeared out from the map. He tried to search for answers of their disappearances but there were no traces or clues. As if it had been wiped out from the history records.

Jiraiya wondered if these mysterious disappearance could be attributed to raiders or bandits which were common back in the day and even now. But so far, there was not enough evidence to support the disappearance. What even made it more mysterious is that these small villages were intentionally put down to protect a classified secret. It was pure mystery on top of another mystery. It will take a long time to further get all the answers.

Jiraiya suddenly snapped from his thoughts, He felt that something was behind him. He then turned around to face nothing but an empty tree. It was strange, this kind of thing had been going on for quite sometime now. It's like He's been closely followed or monitored.

Sensing that danger or any threats of presence was no longer here, The white haired Sannin resumed his coffee and thoughts. They still have a few weeks in the journey back to the village. He wondered what changes had been made since they were away for two years?

The white haired man gave a sigh. There was only one way to find out.

Turning his attention back to the boy." Tomorrow." He finally made his decision." We'll start heading back to the village."

It's about time they went home after two years.

 **(CHAPTER END)**

* * *

 **AN: Thank you for reading Chapter :)**


	14. Arc 2: Homecoming

**Disclaimer:**

 **I don't own Naruto. Kishimoto Does.**

 **Author's note: Hey there Readers, I'm back with a new chapter! I Hope you guys enjoy!**

 **Take note: Since I am going to be a little busy because School works. I will have to adjust the schedule on updating the story. Maybe a twice or once a week.**

 **One more thing, I will be putting any idea of OCs in the story aside. Instead I will be focusing on the main characters and main storyline.**

 **Thank you for Understanding:** )

 **(Beta Edited by: HotaruBoshi**

* * *

 **Arc 2**

 **Chapter 1: Homecoming**

 **January 16, Few weeks after the arrival.**

Dawn had finally arrived. The sun was beginning to rise to make way for a new day. People were already starting to wake up and preparing for their daily tasks. It was a pleasant scene when one was watching the sun rise in its glory. As for one certain short-lavender haired girl, she stood up from the small balcony of an apartment building somewhere in the village.

Himawari smiled as she took a relaxing deep breath, inhaling the fresh morning air. She felt as if she was in a peaceful province. She then gazed at the view of sunrise, which was soon to come at any minute.

"Nothing like a good morning to start!" Himawari exclaimed as she yawned and stretched. She had just woken up a little while ago. She considered herself a morning person from now on. Who would want to wake up very late? It would just ruin your morning.

After a couple of small exercises via stretching her body up, the lavender haired girl then proceeded to drink her hot chocolate milk. So, it was true that enjoying a cup of hot drink in the morning really boosted your mood! No wonder the Uzumaki girl saw her father often drinking coffee in the morning. Oh, how dearly she missed him.

After a while of spending time by herself, she finally went back inside the apartment to do her normal daily duty, the task of preparing breakfast for her big brother and now adoptive sister, one Uchiha girl. The lavender haired girl checked the time: it was still early, but it was the right time to do the small tasks. She really needed to go the wet market today.

When she got back inside, she was greeted by a still sleepy Sarada Uchiha who was now sitting at the breakfast table. Her hair was a bit messy, her glasses were not worn properly, and she was drowsy all the way even to the point that she took a a couple minutes of nap time.

The Uzumaki girl just sighed but smiled. Sarada was working day and night shifts recently at the bakery shop, and that made her really exhausted for most of the part of the past several weeks.

"Good morning, Sarada-neechan!" Himawari greeted the older girl.

"Good morning, Hima". Sarada yawned heavily and greeted the Uzumaki girl with a sleepy and less enthusiastic personality. She couldn't bring herself to full energy right now, still feeling theexhaustion of closing time.

Himawari just sighed." Time to cook" The lavender haired girl muttered. She had already expected their bellies would be soon demanding for food. She then produced her apron and began cooking breakfast. With the smells of the scrambled eggs, bacon and meat loaf, Himawari was confident that her big blonde brother would wake up. The smell of the food would trigger his stomach and automatically wake him up. At least, that was she was expecting from him nowadays.

* * *

 **(Interview)**

 **"All of us were pretty much beaten up by our daily lives recently, except for Himawari, who seems to be keeping that spirit alive inside.**

 **-Sarada**

* * *

As for Sarada, the Uchiha girl stood up from her seat." Don't worry Hima, I'll go wake him up." She simply said as she headed to the blonde's room.

"Okay?" Himawari said. She did not expect for the raven haired teen to wake up the sleeping blonde. Frequently, they would often wake up by themselves and proceed with their everyday preparations. Right now, she was seeing something different, maybe because of the repetitive morning routine.

* * *

 **(MEANWHILE)**

Silence reigned inside the room. Sarada slowly opened the door and tried to peek into the room. It was one of the two rooms in the apartment unit which housed their bedrooms. It was very quiet when the Uchiha girl peeked inside, but soon she discovered the blonde's bed was empty except for a some clothes placed on top of the bed.

Sarada widened her eyes as she burst in to the room. She was definitely surprised by the fact this was the first time she saw the blonde's bed empty but in a clean and orderly way. She had gone to his room numerous times before and seen nothing but a disorganized mess.

"This is strange; he never does this." Sarada wondered to herself. Her blonde teammate was known for waking up at a later time and was never a morning person to begin with. If anyone wanted to wake him up, it would maybe take more than ten minutes to do so.

The raven-haired girl then continued to observed her surroundings. The room was much cleaner and organized. She darted her eyes towards the bed and noticed a set of white polo shirt, black pants, and a white medium top hat.

"A Chef Uniform?" Sarada whispered aloud and wondered, "I thought he was just a bus boy?" How could the guy be cooking now? Unless He was promoted already in a few weeks time.

Was that even possible?

Although, there was really nothing impossible for her teammate. He was Boruto Uzumaki to begin with.

Unbeknownst to the raven-haired teen, a certain teenage blonde stood from behind, watching her with an awkward face. The Uchiha girl then immediately felt the presence behind her and spun to face a topless Boruta who just gotten back from the shower. There was silence yet again as the two stared at each other for a moment.

Boruto was shocked. He was just drying himself up with his towel when suddenly his Uchiha teammate showed up in the room bothering to wake him up. It was a huge surprise for him.

As for Sarada, her face began to show redness until her head became a literal tomato. She just couldn't resist staring at her blonde friend in that topless state; the athletic body that he possessed was just too much for the raven-haired girl.

In just a few moments, Imaginary Steam began coming out from the Uchiha girl and in no more than a second, she was already a ticking time bomb.

Boruto was shaking nervously. He expected to get punch in the face by the latter again. He was very scared that the raven-haired girl would freak out. It was just insane for him as he braced himself.

Although, the unexpected suddenly happened: instead of getting punched in the face as he usually would, the raven-haired girl just turned her back. The blonde was really surprised. He was not expecting this. He was now scratching his head in bewilderment.

As for Sarada, she was not freaking out this time. The raven haired Uchiha just wanted to wake up the blonde from his sleep and for his job but this is what she got. She never wanted any of this, but she was blushing in secret.

Breakfast was now ongoing. There was complete silence at the table. Himawari stared strangely at the two teens. They were eerily quiet right now. The lavender haired girl observed their respective meals. Her big brother was eating as usual but in an awkward manner, while the other was just silent and pretending that nothing had happened.

Sarada slowly ate her breakfast while trying not to have any direct eye contact with the blonde. But her eyes were just uncontrollable: they kept forcing to stare at the latter who was finally all dressed up for his job.

Both were deep in thought at the moment. Sarada just couldn't erase the memory of the topless blonde while Boruto was worried about the latter seeing him like that.

* * *

 **(Interview)**

 **"I just really can't talk about it for starters, and no matter how I try to forget that scene, it still won't go away. I really hate it."**

 **-Sarada**

* * *

Himawari just sighed. She had to stop the weird silence right away. This was really going nowhere to be honest.

"So Nii-chan, I heard you got promoted." Himawari asked. She finally broke the silence as the youngest Uzumaki looked at her big brother.

Boruto who was in deep thoughts, snapped back to reality. He immediately noticed his little sister staring at him and waiting for his answer.

"Oh, sorry about that Hima-chan. He paused while scratching his head.

"Well yeah, I got promoted to a cook, but I am still gonna clean up the tables." Boruto explained. He chuckled for a bit. He still had no escape for that part.

"Oh, that great then." Himawari smiled. She was proud of her big brother.

"Yeah, I'm actually getting nervous about this-ttebassa." The blonde could only laugh in a nervous manner. He expected that there were going to be a lot of customers today.

Himawari smiled." Well, Wish you the best! Boro-nii!" She cheerfully said much to the joy of the blonde.

The lavender haired girl then turned her eyes to silent Uchiha girl." Sarada-neechan? Are you alright?" She asked.

"Is it about Boro-nii again?" Himawari asked.

Sarada shook her head." Of course not! I think I just really need to focus on some other things besides my job." She explained.

"Well, you could stay low for a while and focus on getting back on your Shinobi Shape." Boruto suggested. It's been awhile since they trained. The everyday life was in charged for most of the part.

"Yeah, that would be really cool!" Himawari commented. She was also interested.

Sarada then looked at the blonde. "How then?" She asked.

Boruto finished chewing up his food before speaking up." Well, First, you should adjust your schedule, second, try to loosen up negative things in your mind and thirdly, just enjoy." The blonde explained. Ever since they moved into this apartment, the raven-haired girl had been busy with her job and it was just selling breads and sweets at the bakery shop.

Sarada blinked a couple of times. "Oh, Is that so?" She asked. Apparently, she had tried on becoming an intern at hospitay but Tsunade had said that it wasn't the right time yet so she had no choice but take this job.

The blonde just simply nodded.

"Okay then."

Quietness then took over the area. As the group almost finished their meal, something came up to the lavender haired girl's mind.

"By the way, is it true what I heard from Granny Tsunade the other day?" Himawari asked. She was curious about the blonde Hokage's statement to them when she visited the apartment along with Shizune.

"Heard what?" Boruto asked. He kind of forgot.

Himawari paused for a little bit as she took a sip of her glass of water." Well, is it true that she is going to form a new team and assign us on missions?" She asked, catching the attention of both Uchiha and Uzumaki.

Boruto sighed but smiled." I'm not really sure Hima-chan but I think it would possible soon." He explained. Right now, they weren't a full percent sure that they were going to be a part of the brigade right away. They had just settled down and were in the adjusting phase.

On the other hand, Sarada was wondering on what team were they going to be assigned to if it ever happens. There were two possible teams that came up to her. One was that a new team with a new instructor was going to be formed. Second, the only possible team that she deduced was none other than the famous Team 7.

"I guess that Team would be Mama's team." Sarada guessed. She had that feeling for a long time now.

Both of the Uzumaki siblings then gave her a surprised look. There was no way that they're going to be assigned to a Team that has been on Hiatus for a very long time according to the Lady Hokage herself. Unless a certain teenage Uzumaki was back from his training trip.

"Well, maybe you are right Sarada-chan, but Granny Tsunade said that team would be only active when the old man finally returns from his training trip with Uncle Jiraiya." Boruto explained. He was referring to the younger version of his dad who was currently on a training trip with the legendary toad sage.

"Yeah I guess so." Sarada sighed. She was really looking forward on doing missions as a Shinobi. She really missed it.

Himawari just smiled." Well, let's just wait and see." The lavender haired girl simply said. She too was excited and wanted to go and do missions.

Both Boruto and Sarada smiled. There was renewed hope inside of them. Being a Shinobi for this village was big thing and Unfortunately their parents weren't here to see them living a normal life again.

* * *

 **(AFTER BREAKFAST)**

"See ya little sis!"

"Bye Hima."

Both the Uzumaki and Uchiha had said their farewells to the lavender haired girl. The two were all dressed for work, and as usual, they were going out of the apartment together along with their respective lunchboxes in hand.

Himawari smiled as she waved at the two. Silence dominated inside the whole apartment unit, like before. The lavender haired girl felt loneliness taking over once again.

When they were out of sight, the lavender haired girl sighed. She then turned to the small living room of the apartment and saw how dusty it was.

She sighed again. She knew that she was gonna deal with her biggest challenge yet, which was spring cleaning. She had been doing this for a couple of weeks now and she was gonna face it again this morning.

Already knowing what to do, the Uzumaki teen automatically grabbed the necessary things that would be needed for the challenge. Things such as a broom, a dust pan, a small mop, and a bucket of clean water.

The other two were a set of goggles and a surgical mask.

* * *

 **(LATER ON)**

As the day continued. Himawari found herself walking along the busy streets of the village. She was on her way to the local public wet market to buy some meat, fish, and vegetables. In fact, this was one of the things that surrounds her main job so far.

When the trio had just settled down along with a new apartment. The Uzumaki girl volunteered and agreed to act as the apartment care taker. She was the one in charge of the cleanliness inside the unit. The breakfast, lunch, dinner and lastly, she was pretty much in charge of the ingredients. So that is why she would often go to the local public market to buy the ingredients she needed.

Himawari smiled as she looked up the beautiful blue sky and gazed at it for a few moments. She felt like she was in a new chapter of her life. Just weeks ago, she was fighting to survive the horrors that she experienced back in the future and now she was here on her way to the market to buy ingredients for dinner later.

When she arrived at the market. She was then greeted by a crowd. It seemed that the market was jam-packed today. Although, that would never stop the Uzumaki girl from buying the ingredients.

Himawari then took a deep breath as she headed inside the main entrance of the market.

After an hour of buying the things that she needed. Himawari found herself still on the busy streets of the village. While on the market, the lavender haired Uzumaki mainly bought vegetables, raw noodles, and fresh fishes. She decided that a good old fish noodle soup with veggies was enough for dinner later.

"I'm sure they would like this!" Himawari thought to herself. She was excited later for dinner. She'd always love to cook for her big brother and sister. She got that kind of Attitude mainly from her mother.

Himawari smiled. Her mother would be so much proud. If she only were here to see her living a peacefu and uninterupted life. A small tear secretly fell from her eye. She remembered the memories from time to time amd everytime she would see a mother and daughter walking along, she would always think of the times when she and her mother would go out to the market to buy the ingredients for dinner.

She also wondered about her mom in this era.

Does she even go to market by herself?

* * *

 **(Interview)**

 **"Well, I still recall them from time to time. The nostalgia was just so overwhelming when you think about it.**

 **-Himawari**

* * *

Himawari then shook her head and wiped her tears. She just couldn't stop herself from letting it go. Although, Unbeknownst to her three unlikely kids where running towards her direction.

First, she heard a growl of a cat, who rushed passed by her, then followed by some kid's voice yelling out" WATCH OUT!"

The Uzumaki girl widened her eyes in surprised as she saw three kids who were seemed to be chasing the cat and they seemed to be young genins from the academy. One was a boy with short spiky brown hair, the other was boy with brown wavy hair wearing a pair of round glasses and lastly was a girl with light brown hair with a couple of rosy cheeks on her face.

Himawari was caught up into the surprise. but she managed to avoid the three kids from colliding with her but at the cost of her balance. The lavender haired girl lost her balance and she stumble backwards. She was on her way to the ground when a certain familiar brown haired young man unexpectedly caught her.

Himawari was surprised. She thought that she was gonna fell on the ground, but someone just saved her from it.

The certain brown-haired person turned out to be none other than Neji Hyuuga himself who just happened to be in the same area as her.

"Are you alright Himawari?" Neji asked. He immediately recognized the girl as the little sister of the blonde.

Himawari was caught by surprised. Her Uncle Neji suddenly appeared out of nowhere to save her and the things that she bought. But what was he doing in a place like this?

At the same time, A certain young Hyuuga girl came into the scene. Hanabi was surprised. She was buying some Takoyakis from a food stall when her cousin told her that he was going for a little stroll around the area. Then suddenly she found herself staring at her big cousin who just saved a certain person that she knew.

"Himawari?" Hanabi muttered aloud. She was just surprised to see the Lavender haired girl who was almost on the ground but was saved by her big cousin.

On the other hand, The Uzumaki girl just smiled." Hello Aunt Hanabi." She muttered and slightly wave her hand at the girl.

* * *

It was an eventful but peaceful day. Himawari found herself strolling with the two Hyuuga at the local park. Since they were the only ones that she knew personally so far, she felt often comfortable whenever she is with the two besides the other two. It's like she is spending time with the rest of the family all over again.

After minutes of strolling, the trio found themselves a bench to rest in and while Himawari and Neji sat on the bench. Hanabi chose to stand up and started a conversation.

"So how are you Hima? Are you guys having a difficult time to adjust?" Hanabi asked. She was visibly concerned about the trio since she and Neji haven't had the time to visit them often because of their own daily problems.

It's been weeks since the incident that led them to meet each other. Those several weeks were filled with uneventful normal life activities and occasional meet ups between the trio and the Hyuuga cousins. It was fate which was responsible for not giving them the time to spend together more.

"Yes, Aunt Hanabi, In fact we are living the normal and happy life that we always wanted to." Himawari smiled. She was trying her best to assure the worried Hyuuga.

"Well, That is great to hear." Hanabi smiled. She then gave a glanced at her older Hyuuga, who chose to remain silent but was listened to their conversation. She guessed that her cousin still can't get over the big revelation regarding trio. He was just awestruck for the past several weeks that he had a nephew and niece from the future.

"You okay, big cousin?" Hanabi asked the brown haired teen, who snapped from his thoughts.

"Yeah, I'm fine is just that-" He was about to finish his sentence when his cousin interrupted him.

"You can't get over the fact that Boruto and Himawari are your future Nephew and Niece is it?" Hanabi finished it for him. To be honest, she understood him as he was taking this at a full bowl of salt. It was just really shocking for her cousin when she relayed the big secret several weeks ago.

Himawari gave her young uncle a concerned look. "Are you okay Uncle Neji?" She asked, approaching him.

Neji snapped out from his thoughts once more and looked at the lavender haired girl who was just giving him naturally cute eyes that he just couldn't stand.

Neji cringed." Why does she have to be so cute!? Stop it!" He screamed inside his mind. There was no stopping the adorable cuteness overload of the latter.

"Oh, stop being so Overreacting!" Hanabi scolded. Even though he was one of the calmest people that she knew. His still had his weaknesses, one of them is seeing and dealing with adorable living and non- living things, it was making him so weak and emotionally vulnerable at the same time.

Himawari could only chuckle. She wondered if the two were often like this. Their relationship can be compared to that of a brother and sister even though they're cousins to begin with. They were like the perfect tandem when it comes to familly arguments.

"Aunt Hanabi? Uncle Neji?" She called the two once agaiin, who turned to her with raised eyebrows.

"I just wanna say Thank You for believing in us." The lavender haired girl expressed her gratitude and Thankfulness to the the cousins. If it weren't for them, they wouldn't have handle the Challenges when they first arrived here.

Hanabi sighed but gave a smile." It's no big deal Hima. We will always be there for you." She patted the Uzumaki girl on the shoulder and gave her a wink.

"We promised that after we take care our own daily problems, we're going to have a big family outing again!" Hanabi added and assured her future niece. She and Neji wanted to make up to her this time.

As for Neji, he gave his future niece a pat on the head to show his full support and love for the gir. He knew that he was already an official Uncle, now that he was going on. and he will do whatever it takes just to make the girl happy.

For the rest of the time, the trio continued their conversation, exchanging stories, jokes and keeping the mood alive in the park.

However for Himawari, the girl could not escape a certain thought which entered her mind. It was the thought of telling them the events that were bound to happen in the future. Especially, for the older Hyuuga who still wasn't aware of his fate. She couldn't help but give a sad and nervous look.

* * *

 **(MEANWHILE)**

It was quiet day at the Hokage office. A certain Tsunade Senju stared at and observed three files on her desk. She gave out a sigh as she recalled how much of a challenge it was to create and fabricate all this information. The files were recently made for the trio to be officially recognized as citizens of the village. This was also to protect their secret from being discovered by the corrupt forces of the village officials.

Tsunade gave another sigh. She grabbed the files and opened every single one of them for a final checkup. So far, all the false background information would be enough for the people to believe that they belonged in this timeline.

She also made up her mind and decided to finally assign the trio into a team. Mostly, a team belonging to the famous and well known Konoha 12. Instead of forming a new team, which had a lot of requirements and paperwork, the three would be assigned to an already existing team as rookies and observers for the time being.

The one team that they were assigned to was none other than the famous Team 7. She had no choice. Most of the other teams were currently in their missions and were expected to arrive in the village at a later date. Team 7 was only team that will be soon available by the time a certain blonde brat and his perverted sensei arrived from two year training trip.

It was at this time that the door had suddenly opened. Shizune, along with a familiar Genin team which comprised of three young energetic genins and a sensei donning black shades.

"I told you we could get that cat in no time!" Konohamaru burst into the scene as he exclaimed. He was overflowing with confidence and pride. Their sensei, Ebisu was not helping, since he was making the most noise as he argued with the boy.

"That's the wrong way to catch a cat! I really don't know what has gotten into you, Konohamaru!" Ebisu yelled and argued with the brown haired kid.

Shizune could only watched the two as they argued about the cat, and nothing but the cat. Much too the awkward stares of Moegi and Udon.

Tsunade took a deep breath to calm herself down. She could only cover her face and shake her head in exasperation.

What happened to peace and quiet just now?

 **CHAPTER END**

* * *

 **AN: Thank you for Reading the Chapter :)**


	15. Arc 2: Homecoming Part 2

**Disclaimer:**

 **I don't own Naruto. Kishimoto Does.**

 **Author's note: Hey there Readers!, I'm with a new chapter! I Hope you guys enjoy!**

 **Arc 2**

* * *

 **Chapter 2: Homecoming Part 2**

 **"Welcome to Ichiraku's Ramen**!"

Boruto enthusiastically grinned from ear to ear. He did not expect to be promoted so quickly-in just a few weeks time, even. He guessed that his hard work really paid off. He actually started from the bottom as just a normal bus boy, then, fast forward a few weeks, and he is now considered the youngest chef in the shop, cooking ramen for the customers.

The ramen shop saw an increase in customers and sale percentages because of the blonde's contributions and he was thus now considered a partner to the ramen shop's daughter in terms of handling the orders, fixing technical issues, and other tasks related to the business.

"Coming right up sir!"

"What would you like to order, Ma'am?"

"That's a great choice, Ma'am/Sir."

Phrases and questions like these were constantly coming out of the blonde's mouth since he began working there. Truth to be told, he really enjoyed the experience of serving the customers. It was like a free trial for if he was ever going to work in the future as an adult.

The blonde observed his surroundings. Customer attendance was still at an all-time high. Even though it was a bit of a hustle, he still managed to keep with the flow. He observed the crowd; most of them were families and single individuals. The customers that caught his attention the most were a father and son eating in a particular area. They were happily bonding and talking to each other.

Boruto gave them a sad smile. Memories flooded his mind as he recalled the first time his own dad had taken him to the ramen shop. He remembered that at that time, Ichiraku, the owner, had already retired from the business. Fortunately for the blonde, however, he was able to meet the old man himself, since he had been there in the past.

"Bolt-san?" A familiar female voice called his name. The blonde snapped out of his thoughts and turned to face the brown haired woman herself, Ayame.

"Yes Ayame-chan?" Boruto asked. He was waiting for the latter to ask him something.

"So, how are you doing?" Ayame asked. She was just checking up on the blonde to see how he found his job so far.

Boruto smiled. " Well, I am actually doing great! Plus, I really need this job right now, hehe," he explained as he gave a chuckle. He really needed to earn a living to keep themselves in a stable condition.

Ayame chuckled." You sound as if this is the most important job you've ever taken," she commented.

Boruto could only sigh." Well, It's true that I value my job right now," he explained as he stirred the freshly cooked ramen. "I'm thankful that I'm earning a living because of you guys," he added as he placed the ramen into a bowl of broth and served it to a random customer.

"Without you guys I don't know what other job I would have taken besides this," Boruto explained.

* * *

 **(Interview)**

 **"Well, to summarize my whole job hunting, I got myself busted in three jobs before this, all because of some unfortunate events. Working at Ichiraku's is probably the best thing that ever happened to me so far."**

 **-Boruto**

* * *

Ayame gave smile. "I think we should be the one thanking you." The blonde then stared at her with wide, bewildered eyes.

"Well," she continued, "My Pops had been really looking forward to seeing you ever since you first came here." She paused to catch her breath. "He said that guys like you are made of something special. He kinda reminds you of his favorite customer," she explained.

She was referring to a certain someone, who had the same features as the blonde.

"Who's his favorite customer?" Boruto asked, curious about who the mystery person.

"The customer's name is Naruto Uzumaki," Ayame simply replied, proudly introducing the famous customer of Ichiraku.

Silence hung in the air as Boruto stood still, astonished. The customer that the she was referring to was none other than his dad, the person who would become both Hero and Hokage of the village in the future. He just kept silent, as the memories that he treasured about his old man played in his mind.

Ayama gave him a confused look." Are you alright?" She asked.

Boruto quickly snapped out of his thoughts and was brought back to reality once more. He then gave the brown haired woman a smile.

He had a question in his mind.

"So could you tell me more about this Naruto person?" Boruto asked. He loved his old man to death but he hardly knew anything about him. Sure, the his dad would tell him his stories, but now was the best chance to get to know more about him through the eyes of the individuals who were very close to him.

* * *

 **(Interview)**

 **"I have a habit of forgetting small information much like the many stories that I've heard from mom and the old man. I was bit shaken with embarassment since I can't even remember about the old man being the patron customer of the shop (Chuckles)**

 **-Boruto**

* * *

Ayame was delighted and pleased to tell the teenage blonde about the most hyperactive and inspiring person that ever came through the ramen shop. She told him about Naruto's background, and Boruto listened intently to Ayame's story of his young dad. The teenage time traveler learned more than he ever knew about his old man's past via Ayame.

She would go on to tell about how this certain kid would wander around the streets alone, all the while being ridiculed and insulted by the people of the village. Boruto felt saddened by the truth; he hadn't known about this.

"We really don't have any regrets. My Pops and I are proud that we were one of the few ones that treated him as a member of the family," Ayame explained. The eccentric blonde was their most loyal customer, even from the beginning.

Boruto smiled. He was glad to hear that despite most of the villagers treating him as some kind of outcast, Ayame and the old man treated him as family. He also learned that the ramen shop would often give the young blonde huge discounts or sometimes when he was short on money, they would give him ramen for free, just to make sure he got good food.

"He was orphaned almost since birth. He really grew up alone and even didn't know his parents at all. Some say they both passed in an accident after he was born," Ayame explained.

Boruto sighed. He knew that his old man's parents were dead. They were none other than his grandpa Minato and Grandma Kushina. He actually never met them in person because they were long gone even before he was born.

"Hey, are you really alright? You look as if you're sad." Ayame again noticed the blonde's changing reaction. Sometimes he would smile, and sometimes he would make a sad face.

"Yeah, I'm fine. It's just that I want to meet this Naruto fellow, if ever there is a time," Boruto explained as he looked at his friend.

Ayame smiled. "Well, he really is a fun person to meet and hangout with. It's like having a best friend as soon as you meet him," she explained as she gazed at the blonde's cerulean eyes.

"You know, you kind of remind me of him. You have the same eyes," Ayame commented. She noticed the resemblance between the latter and Naruto.

Boruto slightly chuckled and grinned. "What can I say? A coincidence?" He replied coyly.

"We may never know." Ayame shrugged. She then noticed that the latter had white patches on both of his cheeks.

"Bolt-san?" She called again.

"Yeah, Ayame-chan?"

"What are those patches on your cheeks? I noticed you always have them everyday?" Ayame asked out of curiosity.

Boruto exhaled. "Well, I got my cheeks wounded during the time we escape our small village," he explained.

Ayame blinked her eyes a couple of times before making a surprised face. "Oh," the young woman uttered. She then remembered the blonde's background before they arrived at Konoha. Their small village had been attacked by raiders and everyone perished except him, his little sister, and his friend.

"Oh, I'm so sorry about that," Ayame immediately apologized. She forgot what the blonde had told her before.

"It's alright Ayame-chan, I guess the only way for us to get away from the past is by moving on with our lives," Boruto remarked. He just didn't want to remember the painful memories from back home.

He sighed again. "At least from what I think, I would rather not spend my time remembering all the bad memories about it. They won't do any good for me or anyone else," he explained further.

Ayame sighed. "You're right. Thinking about the bad memories all the time won't do any good," she agreed. "But if you guys need anything, you can just come to us. We'll do whatever we can to help." Ayame smiled as she assured the blonde that he had their full support.

"I could never thank you enough, Ayame-chan." Boruto said as he chuckled at his friends statement. The young brunette woman did the same, going along with the flow.

"No problem."

For the rest of the time, they both remained silent and focused on their jobs. The two of them knew that this was going to be a very long day, so they would have to recharge again.

* * *

 **(MEANWHILE)**

"You've got to be kidding me!"

Konohamaru couldn't believe it. His team gave their one-hundred percent effort on capturing that cat, and yet they are still assigned to D rank missions. How's that even possible?! They should really be treated the way it used to be.

The boy, along with the rest of team, which consists Moegi and Udon, found themselves walking along the outskirts of the Hokage building. Both of the two showed their concern toward the main member of the team.

"Hey, you gotta relax Konohamaru. At least we gave all we got to catch that cat." Moegi declared. She was trying to cheer the boy up.

Konohamaru just sighed. There were a total of one hundred D ranked missions they'd finished successfully, and all they got was another D rank mission in return. This was not even worthy to be the consolation prize!

A C rank mission would be much better. He was eager to prove himself to the blonde and show him that he had gotten stronger. All he wanted was for the latter to be proud of him.

"If only big brother Naruto was here." Konohamaru sighed. He wondered he would return to the village. It's almost been two long years already and he still hasn't showed up. What was the big deal?

"Speaking of Naruto, do you know when he is gonna come back?" Udon was the one to speak.

"Yeah, how is he, by the way? I hope he's doing good in his training with Grandpa Jiraiya," Moegi questioned and commented. She also wondered when the latter would return.

Konohamaru just grinned as he looked up at the blue sky. "Of course he is doing good. Not only good, but GREAT!" He exclaimed. He was just hyped up about it.

"I believed in him a hundred percent," Konohamaru added. A thought then came into his mind. What if they searched the village to find out if the blonde had already arrived. He's just got that feeling that he's gonna return today.

The boy Sarutobi then turned around to face the rest of his team.

"Hey guys, wanna go to Ichiraku's?"

* * *

 **(MEANWHILE)**

Tsunade observed the trio from the large open window at the main office. She sighed but also smiled. The boy reminded her of the blonde knucklehead himself.

"He might be the seventh Hokage in the future perhaps. But definitely a second Naruto," Tsunade asserted. It was just so surreal.

"Seventh Hokage? Quite possibly. What do you think Iruka-san?" Shizune asked the brown haired shinobi on the other side of the desk .

Iruka sighed, "Yeah I guess so." He was also thinking about his former student.

It's really been two long years since the hyperactive blonde knucklehead left the village for his training journey with the master toad sage.

"I hope you are doing alright Naruto," Iruka thought to himself. He wondered about how his formed student was fairing right now. He must be stronger now than before. He might be even summoning toads by now!

"I think it's about time for him to return to the village," Shizune proclaimed. She too was looking forward for the blonde's return. She wondered on he looked like nowadays.

As for Tsunade herself, she felt that this was the day that the latter would be returning to the village. It was long overdue and the kid had a destiny with fate.

"The village needs you Naruto."

* * *

 **(BONDING)**

Himawari walked along the streets of the village. After spending time with her Uncle Neji and Aunt Hanabi she found herself walking back to the apartment. It was a very short but fun day for her. She had to go home because she really needed to prepare the ingredients for dinner later on.

Himawari sighed. She forgot to wear the patches on her cheeks; without them someone might notice the resemblance between her and her past dad.

"Oh bugger," Himawari muttered. If she had only brought the patches, then she would still have time to explore the village more. Being in the apartment was quite boring sometimes. But she had obligations to follow and it was her job to take care of the house.

Himawari sighed again. She had no choice, but she was hopeful that maybe next time she could explore the village with the two. She knew that this Konoha was far different from the Modern Konoha of the future and this was her chance to see everything back in its original state.

The Uzumaki girl felt like a tourist from another place every time she walked along the streets of the village. The whole place was really qualified as a tourist destination.

* * *

 **(CUSTOMER)**

A certain raven haired Uchiha girl stared at the different types of bread in front of her. Her eyes then darted toward a certain direction and saw that the customers were slowly dwindling down in numbers.

She had been handling the orders recently. The customers just kept coming for these breads. She doesn't even know what kind of breads these are. They had a powerful essence that would attract a lot of customers every minute. The reason why the customers were dwindling down was because almost all of the bread was bought out.

This bakery shop was not really even a Bakery shop at all. It was some kind of cafe which had a traditional vibe to it. That is why there is always so many customers here all the time. Now the whole place is quiet, though.

Sarada sighed yet again. She was hoping for her schedule proposal to be approved by the main boss of the bakery shop. She was eagerly awaiting the announcement. As time passed by, the Uchiha girl relaxed her head on her chair.

Thoughts were now running around her mind. She thought of the blonde's advice of staying low for awhile. In fact, she took the latter's advice, and was now awaiting the change of her work schedule.

A few minutes passed by and the raven haired girl felt her consciousness fading away. She was on her way to sleep when a customer suddenly entered the shop. The girl was unaware of the customer as she continued to mind her own business of sleeping.

"Excuse me miss?" A male voice then said, coming out of nowhere and interrupting the raven haired girl's slumber.

Sarada almost fell out her chair but she managed to regain her composure and properly stand up. Her eyes focused on where the customer was located and saw a young but older man. He had onyx eyes, under which were long, pronounced tear-troughs. He had jet-black hair that was pulled back in a low ponytail and his face was framed with center-parted bangs that extended to his chin; the ponytail and bangs grew longer over the years. His overall appearance was very similar to that of a person she knew.

Sarada observed the customer. He was also wearing casual civilian clothes.

"Hello sir, what can I do for you?" Sarada immediately smiled and asked the customer.

The customer just sighed. He had already deduced that the clerk of the bakery shop was just now considering her actions and manners. But he was a patient person and he was going to give this teenage girl a second chance.

"Yes, I would like to ask if you have any sweet breads or cakes here?" The customer asked. He liked foods that have something to do with sweets. It was one of his favorites.

Sarada smiled." Yes! We do have a lot of sweet breads and cakes here," the raven haired girl replied as she presented the different types of sweet breads and other food items that the shop had to offer.

The Customer smiled. He finally made a choice of which bread he wanted. "I would like to have this delicious Tiramisu cake and I will check for a Dine in," he explained.

"Also, a nice little cup of tea would be a good partner," he added.

Sarada nodded. "That's a great choice! That will be a 2 minute wait time, please take a seat," she explained like a professional worker.

The customer nodded in understanding. "Thank you, I understand," he said politely as he turned to find a seat on the small dine in area of the shop.

At the same time, something came to the raven haired girl's mind. She forgot to ask the customer's name.

"Hold on, Sir!" Sarada called out to the latter.

The customer turned back to the girl and gave a face of surprise.

"I'm sorry, but I forgot to write your name here," Sarada informed the man. She explained on she needed the customer's name so that she can just call the name to signal that his order was ready.

The customer sighed but smiled.

"You can call me Chitai."

Sarada just stared at the customer. His name sounded really familiar, but she couldn't put a finger on it. To be honest, the raven haired teen thought that he really looked familiar from somewhere.

* * *

 **(Interview)**

 **"The name really sounded familiar. I just can't figure it out on where I heard that name before. It seemed as if it was reversed.**

 **-Sarada**

* * *

 **(HOMECOMING)**

Somewhere in the outskirts of the village two people could be seen walking through the main road of the forest. One was a tall and well-built man in adulthood with fair skin. He had a wart on the left side of his nose and waist-length, spiky white hair that he usually tied back into a ponytail, with two shoulder-length bangs framing his face. There were red lines under his eyes which extended further down his face.

His attire consisted of a green short shirt kimono and matching pants, under which he wore mesh armor that was visible at his wrists and ankles. He also wore hand-guards, a black belt, traditional Japanese wooden sandals, and a red haori with two yellow circles on each side. He carried a large scroll on his back.

The other one was a blonde teenager with blue cerulean eyes, three whisker marks on his cheeks, wearing a black and orange jumpsuit.

The two were on their way back to the village after a 2 year training trip. They were expecting a lot of changes in the village and they were also ready to meet their old friends and resume their lives there.

Jiraiya smiled. He could finally see the famous Hokage mountain in its glory. It was safe to say that they'd officially arrived at home.

"Man! I can't wait!" Naruto exclaimed. He was pretty much happy and excited. After all the ordeals, challenges and hard work, he could finally prove to them that Naruto Uzumaki has gotten into a stronger level than he was ever before.

Jiraiya observed his blonde student. He gave him a proud smile. He had indeed seen massive improvement in him. He was also starting to look liked his father during his younger days. Minato and Kushina would be so proud of their son. The way he had grown up to be the healthy boy that they dreamed of raising when they were alive.

There was fear building up inside of him, though. What if he did not make it through this journey? Who would watch over the young blonde? He was not completely ready yet to face the danger of all dangers. He still had a long way to go.

As they neared the gates of the village, Jiraiya thought that things would not be the same from now on. But as for right now, it will be a very Home sweet Home.

 **CHAPTER ENDS**

* * *

 **AN: Thank you very much for reading the chapter!**


	16. Arc 2: Homecoming Part 3

**Disclaimer:**

 **I don't own Naruto. Kishimoto Does.**

 **Author's note: Hey there Readers, I'm back with a new chapter! I Hope you guys enjoy!**

 **Take note: Since I am going to be a little busy because School works. I will have to adjust the schedule on updating the story. Maybe a twice or once a week.**

 **One more thing, I will be putting any idea of OCs in the story aside. Instead I will be focusing on the main characters and main storyline.**

 **Thank you for Understanding:)**

 **Beta Edited By: Abyssusdarkness**

* * *

 **Arc 2**

 **Chapter 3: Homecoming Part 3**

Sarada then excused herself and went back to the counter to do other things while the customer began to enjoy his cake and hot tea. She kept observing the latter who was just enjoying his meal like any normal person.

For the raven-haired girl, she thought that guy was somehow familiar. She had seen him in a picture before a long time ago, but she just can't put her finger on it.

By the time the customer finished the meal. Sarada planned to the head to the customer's table for the bill and maybe asked him a few questions but at the same time, the Uchiha teen was called immediately by her boss through a female colleague/coworker and her chance of setting up a conversation with him slid to zero before she even realized.

* * *

( **Interview)**

 **"I was kind of disappointed, I knew I had my chance but it was a complete troll show to be honest. I really hate these kinds of situations.**

 **-Sarada**

* * *

The Two Guys

The certain nickname that had somehow become famous in a span of 2 years. Izumo and Kotetsu were often forgotten, their names literally. Even their superiors don't even know their names or simply having forgotten about it.

The two men found themselves guarding the gates for about a few years now. They wondered if they ever will get promoted to higher position or at least to the next rank. They were more than young rookies, they had goals and dreams of their own.

"Another boring day in the job isn't it?" Izumo commented as he rested himself on his seat.

"Yeah, I agree." Kotetsu yawned, seating at his own seat while reading a certain orange book." Haven't eaten anything yet to be honest." He added.

Izumo then turned his eyes towards his friend." You think we could clock out for awhile?" He asked, hoping to take an early break.

Kotetsu sighed and shook his head." Nah, I think that would be impossible." He replied, drawing out a certain a clipboard." There are about ten more deliveries to enter the gates and no one in the division is available to replace us for awhile." He explained, letting out a tone of disappointment.

"Man, what a bummer!" Izumo commented." I really wanna try something new." He said, before continuing." Being here all day and everyday is probably the worst thing ever." He added.

"I'm not the type of person who spends the rest of his time being a strict guard."

Kotetsu gave a little chuckle." Me too." He said." Yet, we have the responsiblity of guarding these gates, we are in fact the main Guardians of Konoha." He said.

The other let out a small chuckle." You're quite right though." Before taking a sigh." I guess we have to wait for another Hokage to get the different one."

Well, there are a lot of candidates for a Sixth Hokage" Kotetsu said, before continuing." I'm guessing it will a little different this time." He added, hoping for the next one to come from their ranks.

Izumo then slowly looked up to face the blue sky." And I guess the seventh will be more surprising." He commented.

The wind grew blew strong after that and the once unevenful day for them had become somewhat eventful one.

Eventually, they would be witnessing an unexpected scene in the form of unlikely two people who were few distances away from the gates. Both guys were minding their own business, when two certain familiar people entered the gates and passed by them.

Kotetsu was the first one to noticed and stood up from his seat followed by Izumo who almost fell on his chair because he was caught by the sudden surprised.

"Is that who I think it is?" Kotetsu asked, trying to figure out on what he had just saw right now.

"Izumo gave a little chuckle and a smile slipped across his lips.

"No doubt about it."

The two people were none other than the great toad Sannin, Jiraiya and the ever famous young Shinobi, Naruto Uzumaki.

* * *

 **(Interview)**

 **"Our eyes were big as a whale when we saw them. We thought we're inside a dream yet this was indeed reality."**

 **-Kotetsu**

 **"It was a very surreal moment for us. Can you believed that they are finally back!?"**

 **-Izumo**

* * *

 **(MEANWHILE)**

Instead of being annoyed, Boruto was even more surprised and shocked. He did not expect to see his sensei. The Mini young version of himself in front of him. The blonde teen observed the young boy. He was far different from the person that he knew back in the future.

There was a silence in the area. Everyone was waiting for the blonde's response on the boy's hyperactive name entrance. Moegi and Udon were both looking at the third's grandson who was booming with the usual pride and confidence.

Konohamaru liked this kind of entrance. He was following the footsteps of his idol and role model who was also known for his epic introductions. He waited for the new guy's response. He seemed to look like a newbie.

On the other hand, Boruto just sighed. He was going to do this the professional way of handling kids like this." Nice to meet you Konohamaru." He just calmly smiled.

The three kids were caught by another surprised and bewilderment. Especially, for Konohamaru who was wondering about the blonde's calmed reaction.

There was yet another quietness that took over.

Although, At the same time, Ayame entered the scene and was greeted by three kids that she knew." Konohamaru, Moegi, and Udon? What are you guys doing here?" She asked which finally broke the silence.

"Hey, Ayame-neechan! I just want to ask if big brother Naruto came by here?" The boy asked.

Both Boruto and Ayame widened their eyes in surprised. Naruto was here? How could that be? They were handling customers all day long and they haven't seen any blonde person with an orange jumpsuit come by here yet.

"What do you mean? Did Naruto-san return from his training trip?" Ayame asked. She was eager to know if the blonde shinobi had finally returned to the village.

Konohamaru just sighed in disappointment. He thought that his big brother would be here now. Looks like He won't be arriving soon enough." Oh, I just thought he was here." The boy replied with his down.

"Are you alright Konohamaru?" A concerned Ayame asked.

On the other hand, the boy just grinned." Nah, I'm alright, we better get going now, Thanks Ayame-neechan!" Konohamaru said as the boy then proceeded to head outside.

Moegi and Udon just stared at their teammate for a moment before catching up to the latter. The two gave their goodbyes as they left the ramen shop.

"What was that about?" Boruto wondered aloud. Was his young sensei really that big fan of his dad?

On the other hand, Ayame gave a sad smile." I'm so sorry if you don't understand him, He just really wants to see him again." She explained.

"Oh." Boruto said. To be honest, He really did not know his sensei's past and background. He did not really know about the latter's whole relationship with his dad. Plus, His sensei as a kid was just a new thing to him.

Ayame would go on to explain that the boy had a very close relationship with the blonde. The second person to acknowledge Naruto as he is. This was due to the blonde not seeing Konohamaru as simply the third's grandson like everyone else in the village originally did.

Slowly, Boruto began to understand. There were a lot of things that he did not knew about his sensei, parents and other people that he knew before. Since He was in the past, He might as well get to know everyone.

* * *

 **(Interview)**

 **"Man, talk about seeing your sensei as a little kid. I wonder what would it be ike baby sitting him? He must be more hyper than me.(Chuckles)**

 **-Boruto**

* * *

It was beautiful day in the streets of the village. It was not crowded so it would be nice for everyone to take a stroll. As for a certain pink haired girl, she was both strolling and walking to her destination which was located at the main gates of the village.

Sakura enjoyed the atmosphere and ambience that was present at the moment. A wonderful sunny day combined with the peaceful presence of the village, it was a stroll to be remembered. As the pink haired teen passed by the streets, she began to wonder about the events that happened in the past.

Specifically, she wondered the time when the lady Hokage went to the Hospital conduct some random test to three people that she did not met before. Why would she also need her teammates blood? is this because they were going on a blood transfusion here because of the same blood type? Or maybe DNA test?

If that were a DNA test, then that would be absurd. Not one in a million years that her blonde and raven-haired teammate might have long lost family members. It was just impossible. Both were orphans except for Sasuke, who still has an older brother left. Although, at the end of the day, nobody will know the truth.

"Hey Sakura!" A Familiar voice was then heard calling the pink haired girl's name.

Sakura turned around to see three familiar kids that she knew who were none other than Konohamaru, Moegi, and Udon.

The pink haired teen smiled." Hey guys!" She greeted them. She also wondered why they were such in a hurry?

Konohamaru gave a smile." Where are you off to?" He asked older girl.

"Well, I'm off to the main gates to fetch the daily pedestrian report for Lady Tsunade." She explained.

"You guys wanna tag along?" Sakura asked with a smile. She could use a good company right now.

Konohamaru and the rest of gang took glances at each other before all of them turned their heads towards the pink haired teen. They all nodded.

"Sure then! We might be able to meet Big brother Naruto at the gates!" Konohamaru expressed his excitement yet again while the other just raised her eyebrows in confusion.

"He is back?"

* * *

 **(Interview)**

 **"I was really puzzled yet hoping that time. I hadn't seen him for two years now. Is He the same old idiot the last time I saw him?"**

 **-Sakura**

* * *

As the day continued. The crew found themselves walking along the streets of the village towards the main gates. Sakura found time to have a conversation with the three kids, especially Konohamaru who was leading the way.

"And the cat really tried to scratch my face and nuts off, but I was able to get it." Konohamaru explained their recent D rank mission which really caused laughter amongst the group.

Sakura couldn't believe on how it was tough for them to catch just only one cat. Are cats really that tough nowadays? She also remembered the times when the team was still together, and they would go on this D rank missions which included finding and catching escaped animals who were also pets to begin with.

"Yeah, I remember We have D rank missions which were exactly like that." Sakura commented. She was reminiscent about the past.

"Actually, brings back a lot of memories." Sakura added.

Konohamaru smiled but then he became quiet for a few seconds. He was eager to ask the pink-haired teen this question.

"By the way, have you gotten any word from Naruto yet?" Konohamaru asked.

Sakura shook her head. She realized the reason why the boy agreed to tag along." Nope, not a word from Naruto yet." She simply replied.

Konohamaru sighed in yet another disappointment. "Too bad, I was really hoping." He explained.

"Is that why you're so excited to go to the main gates?" Sakura asked while the boy simply nodded.

Sakura gave a smile of hope to the boy." You don't have to be down, I'm sure He will be popping out anytime soon." She explained.

Konohamaru looked up and turned his head to the older girl. He then gave her a smile, reigniting his hopes of meeting his idol and big brother soon.

As the group finally reached their destination. They were then greeted by the shocked but excited faces of the two Shinobi who were at the guard post. Sakura and co. Were currently wondering on what the two were excited about.

"Hey guys, how's it going?" Sakura greeted the two who were ready to tell the big news anytime.

"Hey Sakura! You guys are just right in time!" Kotetsu grinned.

"I guess someone's waiting for you guys, but you just have to find him somewhere in the village." Izumo added further.

As of now, the rest of the crew were confused and bewildered. What the heck were they talking about? And Who's this person they say that was waiting for them?

After a few moments of wondering, Sakura finally realized who that person was.

"Naruto?" She muttered one name. She then glanced at the two guards who gave her a nod.

"Hey Konohamaru, looks like He's..." Sakura trailed off when she turned around to find the boy had gone off back to the main district with his team.

For a few moments, she felt dumbfounded. But she then regained her senses and noticed that she was the only one left.

"Hey wait!" Sakura exclaimed as she took off from her current spot and headed towards where her blonde teammate currently is.

* * *

 **(MEANWHILE)**

"Man, it's been awhile since I walked in this street!"

"It's sure is."

A certain blonde teenager wearing a black and orange jumpsuit found himself and his sensei walking along the busy streets of the village. It was a sight to see, at least for blonde teenager who just came back after a long 2-year training trip with his sensei.

He was looking forward to meeting the rest. Especially, his one and only beloved Sakura-chan. He remembered that he had plan. A plan to show the girl on how he has matured in this two years. He had to act like a gentleman, but would he fail?

"So, Naruto, what do you think of the new and improved Village of The Hidden leaves?" Jiraiya interrupted the latter's thoughts. The kid seemed to be quiet for most of the time. What was he thinking or planning?

The two reached a certain area where there stood an electric post that was tall enough for anyone to see a good view of the village. One would need a very long ladder to that view. However, only a shinobi can go up there easily with his or her bare feet to see the view in a short time.

As for the teenage blonde, He had no problem at all. He quickly set his feet and immediately ran towards the certain post. As soon as he steps on the post, He ran upwards towards the top.

When he got to the top, He was then greeted by an amazing view of the village. " Now this takes me back!" The blonde teen exclaimed. It was just a breath-taking view.

"The village hasn't changed a bit!" He added as he observed his surroundings. The wind was very strong which added to his epic introduction yet.

"I'm Home Everyone! Naruto Uzumaki has returned to the hidden Leaf Village! Dattebayo!" Naruto yelled out with all his voice. The future greatest Ninja has arrived.

Jiraiya looked up as he observed the blonde from the ground." Same old Naruto as Always." He sighed.

"Jiraiya-san!" A female voice then was heard calling the white haired Sannin.

Jiraiya then turned to face four familiar faces that he hadn't seen in two years. He smiled as he saw his student's pink haired teammate and three kids who he deduced as his sensei Sarutobi's grandson.

"Looks who's here." The white haired Sannin said. He greeted them as they seem to appear exhausted from the run.

Sakura who managed to catch up with the three kids, recovered her breath. She then looked towards the toad sage." Jiraiya-san is He really here?" She asked.

Jiraiya could only sighed. "Well he's right up there." He pointed towards the top of post where the one and only blonde stood.

The rest of the gang then followed the latter's instructions and all of them looked up to see the person they were looking for.

"You got to be kidding me." Sakura muttered. As she was about to call him, the young Konohamaru beat her to it first.

"Big Brother Naruto!" Konohamaru yelled out to the blonde. He just can't contain his excitement. Although, there was no response or any sign of him hearing their calls.

"Naruto!" Sakura began to yell out her teammates name. She also wondered if the latter has gone deaf because he can't hear them calling him.

* * *

 **(MEANWHILE)**

"Looks like they added an extra head for Tsunade-Baachan." Naruto commented. He was observing the Hokage Mountain and was really amazed on how they carved that additional face in just two years.

"Naruto!"

The Uzumaki then heard a very familiar female voice. The Blonde's eyes widened as he immediately recognized the voice that was calling his name. He then looked down and four familiar faces, especially the pink haired girl.

Naruto grinned. He quickly set off his feet and jumped down from his current position. He landed on the ground safely and quickly headed straight to greet the rest of the newcomers which were his friends.

"Hey guys Long time no See!" Naruto greeted the rest. By the time he reached his pink haired teammate, he stopped his tracks as he was then met by surprised.

Sakura stared at the blonde in awe. He really had grown up and He looks matured than before. She thought that she was staring at a different person, but it was really her teammate.

"You've grown taller." Sakura commented. She was just in awe and not used to seeing the blonde taller than her. She recalled back then that he was the shortest person in the team.

Naruto then noticed it." Well, What I can say Hehe." He chuckled while scratching the back of his head.

Naruto then noticed his pink haired teammate blushed. For what reason though?

"Uhm, Naruto Can I ask you a question?" Sakura asked while blushing for a bit. The blonde then raised his eyebrows in question.

"Do you think I seemed more like a woman to you now?" She asked. She wasn't sure if she really looked like a beautiful grown woman in this two years.

Naruto then grinned. "Are you kidding!? You haven't changed a bit Sakura-chan!" He commented with a thumbs up. He just did not realize what he had just said.

On the other hand, Sakura just made a disappointed looked and turned behind with her arms crossed. She was expecting for the blonde see her as a young woman.

Jiraiya could only snicker from behind." Nice going Naruto." He whispered to the blonde who was now thinking of what he was going to do next.

Naruto was just as crying in the inside because of his idiotic answer. He just promised himself that he would act a different and mature person for his teammate and he was stuck in an awkward situation right now.

Then a thought came into the blonde's mind. He finally knew what to do next. He then took a deep breath and processed his brain to apologize to the pink haired teen and maybe take back what he had said.

As he was about to open his mouth. The young Konohamaru interrupted him." Hey Big Brother Naruto, Take a looked at this!" He exclaimed as he then performed a hand sign.

 **"Sexy No Jutsu!"** The boy yelled out he transformed. A puff of smoke appeared then faded away to reveal sexy naked lady who was surrounded by the smoke to cover the sensitive parts.

There were several different reactions coming from the rest of the gang. Sakura was surprised and freaked about the Jutsu, along with Moegi was just visibly annoyed. Udon was in shocked while Jiraiya just made a goofy but perverted hungry in awe face. He was really the ultimate pervy sage.

After a few seconds, the sexy no Jutsu wore off and the boy transformed back into his original form." What do you think? Not too bad for the Curves Department Hehe." Konohamaru grinned. After all this time, He wanted to also prove that there was no underestimating the power of his Sexy no Jutsu.

As the boy waited for a response, the blonde teenager just stood there. He just kept quiet and formed a small smile on his face.

"I'm sorry Konohamaru but I'm not scrawny little kid anymore." He explained.

"You shouldn't be using these kinds of Jutsu. You have to remember that they are beneath you now." Naruto explained further. His matured side was coming out but for how long?

As for Sakura, she was in awe and amazed by the blonde's sudden change in character. She had to admit that she really missed the old version of the knucklehead, but this was for the best. Maybe that two-year training trip really changed him as a person.

As for Konohamaru, He was caught by surprised. He just looked down on the ground. He can't believe that his Idol had finally matured and was not the same kid anymore.

Unbeknownst to them the blonde was planning something big of a surprised. There was quietness for a few moments before the blonde finally gave into his knucklehead side.

"Come on Konohamaru! It's that all you got!? I can do a thousand times better than that!" Naruto yelled out just like a scrawny little kid. He was also about to perform his new naughty Jutsu when something unexpected happens.

"NARUTO!" One screamed by the pink haired teen changed it all. Soon Naruto found himself being punched in the face and then turned into a wrestling and punching bag.

"WHAT THE HECK ARE YOU DOING YOU IDIOT!? WE DIDN'T SEE EACH OTHER FOR TWO YEARS AND YOU'VE GOT THE NERVED TO PULL A STUNT LIKE THAT!?" Sakura was visibly and obviously outraged and furious. All her expectations and hopes of seeing a mature person in Naruto was just flushed down the toilet.

"DO YOU HAVE ANY IDEA HOW THAT MAKES ME FEEL!?" The pink haired girl added. She was just scolding the blonde at an extreme level currently. She was also unknowingly grabbing him by the collar while she was yelling at the poor blonde.

"Man, she really hasn't changed a bit but gotten more vicious!" Naruto commented in his thoughts. He should be taking notes on how not to act like an idiot in front of his teammate or else.

Meanwhile, Konohamaru and gang immediately went to the white haired Sannin to take refuge from the wrath of the pink haired teen. They were visibly shaking in terror now.

Jiraiya just gave a sighed." Looks like She raised a Mini Tsunade of Konoha." He commented. He took note of the short-tempered teen which reminded him of his teammate from long ago.

Could this get any better?

* * *

 **(MEANWHILE)**

Sarada couldn't believe what she was hearing from her boss, whom was the owner of the shop. Apparently, her proposal to adjust her working schedule was approved and the raven-haired girl was just as happy as anyone else. That would also mean that she would finally go on mission with the rest of the guys soon enough.

"Thank you so much! I promise that I will work harder, you won't regret it Sir!" Sarada remembered those words that she had said a while ago to her boss.

The raven-haired teen happily smiled from ear to ear. She was looking at a piece of paper which contained the information of her approved schedule.

She also told her boss about the whole thing about her being stress and overworked. The good thing is that her boss was an understanding person and understood the girl's current situation. So, she gave the raven-haired girl a deserved rest for a while.

 _"Thank you Boruto_!" She thanked the latter inside. Her blonde friend was truly the one that she was to be thankful of. Without his advice and knowledge of time management, the Uchiha girl would still be working overtime throughout the week.

Sarada took a deep breath and restarted her face with a smile. Her boss also told her that she can go home anytime she wanted and the raven-haired teen decided that she was going home.

When She finally arrived at the main area of the Cafe/Shop, she was then greeted by a fellow colleague/employee who had told her that the customer who enjoying the meal had already left. Sarada realized that she had forgotten to engage the latter into a conversation, but it was too late though.

The mysterious customer had also apparently paid the bill through her female colleague and even left a tip for Uchiha teen. Sarada was just bewildered, this was one of the first times that a customer gave a tip. Regular customers in the shop rarely give tips.

Her female colleague/employee, also commented on how the customer was quite secretly attractive. The raven-haired teen could only have sighed. She knew that she had seen this customer's face before somewhere, but it was just too late to wonder now.

"So, where you off to now?" The female colleague, named Aika asked. This was the first time she had seen the raven haired lady excited.

Sarada just smiled." I think I'm gonna go home and relax." She simply said as she removed her green apron grabbed her small bag and headed for home.

The Uchiha girl told herself she was gonna only enjoy this day no matter what.

* * *

 **(Interview)**

 **"Well, I guess I've been workaholic for weeks now and I'm looking forward to released that stress.( Gives a smile)**

* * *

 **(MEANWHILE)**

Himawari yawned as she sat on the couch. She used her hands to press the remote thus switching the channels on the TV. From Drama to Comedy to Family, to horror, the lavender haired girl just watched every genre just to keep her occupied.

She was getting tired that she might needed a nap. She had already finished preparing the ingredients and was ready for cooking anytime the time called her to do it. She also had in mind of going out again since she can just wear the patches on her cheeks, but she just doesn't have the mood and energy right now.

Himawari rested her head on couch. She wondered on what were the two doing right now at this moment. She also hoped they would go home early today. Being home alone was boring but the girl was used to it already.

Himawari just sighed." Might as well continue the horror movie marathon."

* * *

 **CHAPTER ENDS**

 **AN: Thank you for reading chapter!**


	17. Arc 2: Meetings

**Disclaimer:**

 **I don't own Naruto. Kishimoto Does.**

 **Author's note: Hey there Readers, I'm back with a new chapter! I Hope you guys enjoy! I would also like to thank you guys for the Reviews. Favorites, and follows :) Thank you for also sharing your tips and thoughts for the story.**

 **Expect Grammar and Spelling mistakes**

 **P.S: I am just newbie so go easy on me**

* * *

 **Arc 2**

 **Chapter 4: Meetings and Surprises**

Himawari took a deep breath and inhaled the fresh air. She was at an area where a pond was situated. The lavender haired girl observed and watched a family of ducks crossed the pond. Apparently, she told the two Hyuuga that she would be taking a short stroll and she ended up in this area.

The wind blew stronger and it was a perfect scene for lavender haired girl to reminiscent the past. She remembered how she and her mother would take a stroll at the park after visiting her Uncle Neji's grave.

Himawari took a deep breath yet again. Even though she was remembering all the happy memories, she still felt a sense of sadness. She really did miss her mom. If only she was here.

"Hey Hima." A familiar voice then called her name. She turned around to see her Aunt Hanabi who had just arrived at the area.

"Aunt Hanabi? I thought you were talking to Uncle Neji?" Himawari asked. She was a bit confused.

Hanabi just smiled." We just finished our conversation and I thought maybe we could talk for a while." She explained.

Himawari blinked for a couple of times before giving her smile." So, what do you want to talk about, Aunt Hanabi?" She asked.

There was silence that took in charged. Hanabi just sighed and then gave the latter a calmed but serious looked. She really needed to know more information on why or how they were sent here and what happened to the rest of her family. She recalled that the Uzumaki girl never really told the whole story except that her big brother was fighting this guy named "Kawaki". She never mentioned the current state of Hinata and the others.

"Is it okay, if I asked more on what happened before you guys arrived here?" Hanabi asked. She was just eager to know the bigger picture to get a good idea.

Himawari was surprised. She wondered why her Aunt would want to know the rest of the story that wasn't worth to tell. It would just bring all the bad memories. The lavender haired girl just kept silent for a few moments. She could now feel the sadness and pain coming back just because she needed it to remember the important details she could.

Hanabi noticed the girl's face changed from a smile to a sad look. There were also small tears starting to come out from her eyes. The Hyuuga girl understood what the latter was feeling right now. The feeling of losing your family and home.

After a few moments, Himawari wiped the tears way from her eyes. She just had to let it go first. She was now ready to tell the all that she could remember.

"To be honest, I really don't remember much of everything before we arrived here. Other than witnessing the destruction of the village." Himawari explained.

"You don't remember much of everything? Hanabi asked. She was surprised.

Himawari could only nod." I only remember that there was this huge explosion and earthquake that hit the village in a blinked of an eye." She added. She was trying to remember every detail that she could recall, and it slowly came back to her.

The lavender haired Uzumaki girl further explained that she remembered her mom helping her dad to address the sudden situation. She also recalled that she was with the Uchiha girl herself and they were helping and treating injured and wounded civilians along with the latter's mother. After that, the village was then suddenly attacked or invaded by a group of unknown enemies. The Uzumaki girl and the older Uchiha was forced to defend themselves from the mysterious those enemies and after that everything just went black for the girl.

Hanabi was shocked and felt saddened on what the latter had went true. She couldn't believe this was indeed the fate of the village in the future. The question is How would they prepare for this forth coming future. There was also a thing that came into her mind, what has become of herself and Neji. When she asked that question, she was then received by two different response from the girl.

Himawari gave her young aunt a smile. She told her about her future that she will someday become a well-respected Shinobi and she will have a team of her own to go on missions.

Hanabi was surprised about that but she was pleased to hear about it. She also learned that her relationship with her big sister could be considered fixed in the future. She also learned that her strict father had transformed into a more soft and loveable grandpa and according to her future niece, would always cuddle the siblings whenever they visit the compound.

As the conversation continued, Himawari felt this was coming towards a topic about her Uncle Neji. Her prediction then came true as her young aunt asked on what had become of the brown haired Hyuuga.

When Hanabi asked the question, she was expecting a happy ending for her big cousin. But what comes out was just pure silence from the girl.

"Hima, is everything alright?" Hanabi asked. There was concerned building up inside of her. She felt her heart beat a little much faster.

"What happens to Neji in the future?" Hanabi asked. She did her best to keep herself calm. She was hoping to the latter would be alright.

Himawari just kept silent. She then gave her young aunt a sad smile and she shook her head. The sad truth had been revealed. The lavender haired girl then opened her mouth.

"Uncle Neji didn't make it, He passed away before I was born." She simply said. It was true she did not the chance to meet his Uncle in person.

Hanabi was just shocked and surprised. No can't be! It was just Impossible, if is then How?

Himawari then began to explain that a fourth great shinobi war had took place. Neji was part of the Allied Shinobi forces and the latter gave his life by protecting a certain someone who become the lavender haired girl's mother.

Hanabi was just silent. There were tears falling from both of her eyes. She just can't believe it that all those things would happen soon enough. She then wiped her tears and then embraced the Uzumaki girl.

Himawari was just silent. She was secretly crying in the inside as she just couldn't bear the sadness of seeing her aunt in this state. As for Hanabi, she gave the girl thankful smile." Thank you for letting me know our future." She said.

"Don't worry the truth is safe with me." Hanabi added. She won't be telling anyone about this especially her big cousin. It was not the right time yet for him to know.

"Let's just end this topic. I don't wanna know anymore future stuff." Hanabi suggested. She had heard enough information, and this was the time to end this.

"Hey guys! What did I miss?" A familiar voice then interrupted the two girls. They turned to see a confused and bewildered Neji in front of them.

Hanabi just sighed." Neji, we have big news for you." She said.

Neji raised both his eyebrows in confusion." What news?" He asked. What this about his future?

"You'll still be a Virgin in the future Uncle Neji." Himawari smiled. Causing the Hyuuga girl to laugh out loud while the other just made it a deadpanned face.

"Oh, come on girls, that's not funny."

Noon time had finally come to an end. The sun had just begun its journey to set. Neji and Hanabi strolled for one last time in the park before deciding to go back home at the family compound. Apparently, their future niece already left early to prepare for dinner. The two were really amazed on how the young girl could really handle herself even when she is alone.

Neji wondered on how the lavender haired girl can managed her time. He learned that she was now the care taker of the apartment in terms of maintaining the unit into its clean condition. He also learned that the latter handles the menu for Breakfast, Lunch, and Dinner. She even goes to the public wet market now when she needed to. She is like some sort of efficient machine if you asked the older Hyuuga.

As for Hanabi, she was just proud of how tough and resilient the girl was. Even though, her future niece is still in her teens, she knew how life works. She really felt sorry for the girl. She lost everything in her life and was an orphan now along with her big brother and Uchiha friend.

"Hanabi?" The voice of Neji interrupted her thoughts. She then turned her attention to her cousin who was giving her a worried face.

"What's with the troubled face?" Hanabi asked.

Neji took a deep breath." I was just bothered about my future. Would I really be a virgin for a long time?" He asked himself and the latter.

Hanabi could only sighed." You know Neji, you really need to improve your lifestyle." She suggested which even made the latter confused as ever.

"What I meant is that you gotta work extra harder for a girl to fall in love you." Hanabi explained further. She hoped that her big cousin would take her advice.

As for Neji, his mind was on overdrive. He was now thinking of a way on how to be more appealing and charming to the girls. He really could be the next Sasuke Uchiha in terms of fan girls. If all that hard work pays off.

"Alright then! Then I would start by cutting my hair off, Girls hate long hair right!?" Neji exclaimed in a way what his bushy brow teammate would do.

"Uhm, Neji I-" Hanabi was gonna say something but was cut.

"I will also catch all those chickens and put them back in the cage to prove myself of being worthy to girls!" He added.

"Never mind." Hanabi just facepalmed herself. She just gave up right at that moment. No wonder Neji could still be a virgin in the future.

He just sucked at getting girls to fall in love with him.

* * *

 **(MEANWHILE)**

Sarada smiled from ear to ear. She was in the best moment of her life so far. She was actually, truly enjoying for the first time. When she got out of the shop, she decided to get herself a relaxing foot massage at the local spa, her feet were so tired of standing all day and night long of handling the customers so that's why she signed up for a foot massage.

The second thing she did was let all her stress out, so she rented a karaoke room just for her and she sang her heart out to some songs that she loved growing up since she was kid. She didn't even know that she had a wonderful voice.

The last thing she did to enjoy was to immerse herself with knowledge as she bought couple of books, that discussed History and Mystery at the book shop. Then she went to a tea cafe and enjoyed her favorite black brewed tea.

"This is the life!" Sarada commented. She rested her head on a comfy chair in the tea house. She was also reading one of the two books that she bought while enjoying her tea.

Sarada was intrigued and fascinated on reading about the mysterious and unknown. When she was reading her book, she stumbled upon a topic which discussed the infamous Uchiha Massacre that happened many years ago. It was general knowledge that a man named Itachi Uchiha was responsible for the whole massacre but why did he have to do it?

Her Papa told her stories about her Uncle, but he did not go into detail regarding that night on what he witnessed. She would go on to read that after the Massacre which left a boy named Sasuke Uchiha as the only survivor, dubbed as one of the most brutal massacres in history. Right after that, Itachi Uchiha was branded as an in international criminal for also joining the Akatsuki. Years later, his younger brother, which was Sasuke Uchiha unexpectedly followed in his footsteps and left the village and was now missing-nin.

Sarada can't believe what she had just read. Her family history was just complicated and had met a tragic ending. But to all of that, there was one thing that she came up to her mind. There must be a real reason on why Uchiha massacre happened. What was the motive behind it? You can't just go to someone's compound and kill everyone for no reason.

Sarada's eyes widened, she had an idea, why don't she pay a visit to the compound itself? She heard that it was turned into a memorial spot of sorts.

With her mind now in the right track, the Uchiha girl decided to pay the compound a visit to learn more about her clan's history and especially the truth about the Massacre.

* * *

 **(Interview)**

 **"As much as I have read and researched a lot of books regarding the infamous Uchiha clan massacre, I still can't believed that such a tragic event would happened to my own clan. Until to this day, even Papa tried so much to avoid discussing that particular topic when asked.**

 **-Sarada**

* * *

 **(MEANWHILE)**

As the late afternoon neared, Neji and Hanabi had just got back from their little adventure at the streets of the village and the park. Both were really looking forward for a very nice dinner and rest.

The two Hyuuga were walking near the compound when something came up on the younger Hyuuga." Hey Neji?" Hanabi called the latter's name.

Neji turned around to face the younger Hyuuga and raised both eyebrows.." Yeah, what is it?"

"How's Big sister, by the way?" Hanabi simply asked. She was wondering what her big sister was up to. Since she got called back to training again. She really can't find time to check up on her except she was only allowed to have a break and buy her foods outside. Their strict father, Hiashi Hyuuga had apparently became even more stricter to put that in a simple way.

Neji was the only one who knows his cousin current state. He was the unofficial body guard and the sole Hyuuga who was always on the frontlines just to ensure her safety.

"Well, Hinata-sama is alright but recently there is something off about her." Neji explained which really caught the full attention of the Hyuuga girl.

"What do you mean there is something off about her?" Hanabi eyed him suspiciously. What the heck is he talking about?

Neji sighed. It was really hard explaining this." Well, aside from being the usual shy and timid self, she's been having these weird dreams lately." He explained.

Hanabi raised both her eyebrows." Weird Dreams huh?" She was new to this information and that is why she was wondering.

Neji nodded. He would go on to explained that the Hyuuga Heiress started having these strange dreams not too long ago. The strange dreams that would make her wake up in the middle of night. Also, these dreams were somehow influenced the latter's character. There were small times that she would not stutter when talking to someone, small times where she would act differently and not freaking out on surprises. After that, she would then turn back to her usual self. The timid and shy Hinata.

"I am telling the truth here, I swear bring me to the Mental Institute If I ever was wrong." Neji explained. He was hundred percent sure that he was telling the truth. He was freaking out about this!

Hanabi just can't believe what she was hearing. She was tired of hearing farfetched stories, first the time travelling trio, now this? Can't she just take a break?

As the two finally reached the compound. There was this silence that took over. Both could hear their hearts beating. They were both not sure if the latter was at home but there was only one way to find out.

By the time, they got to the entrance door. The two stopped their tracks as they heard a commotion inside. The two Hyuuga then glanced at each other, neither were sure of what's s going on. A few moments later, the two Hyuuga opened the door then entered.

They were expecting something bad has happened but instead they were greeted by an unusual sight. First, Neji was then tackled to the ground by a huge white-haired dog. Hanabi was caught by the sudden surprised as she found herself staring at her big cousin who has been mercilessly licked by the huge dog.

"Neji!?" Hanabi just exclaimed. She doesn't know what was going on.

"Hey, Akamaru! Easy Boy!" A male voice could be heard yelling out. A brown haired young man with red paint in his cheeks then entered the scene.

"Kiba?" Hanabi muttered. She was surprised. This person was her big sister's teammate!

Kiba finally managed to get his huge pet off the older Hyuuga. "I'm really sorry about that guys. Akamaru just likes to play." He explained.

"Yeah, I'm just fine." Neji said. There was a bit of sarcasm in his voice.

"Alright Kiba, what heck are you doing in the compound? Did you do something to my Big sister!?" Hanabi furiously asked the latter. Neji then stood up and placed his hands on his hips and made a face.

Kiba raised his arms up in surrender. He did not mean for this happen." Hey guys chill out! The rest of team is here because Hinata invited us for an early bird snack that's all I swear." He explained as if his life depended on it.

Hanabi just sighed and she beckoned her big cousin to follow her inside. When they got inside they saw how the place was so much cleaner than before. They could also smell the delicious scent of food being cooked. They were also greeted by Team 8's other members Shino, and the main instructor Kurenai.

Kurenai greeted the two Hyuuga. She explained to them that the Hyuuga Heiress had invited the team to the house for a special afternoon with the food being prepared and cooked by her. She would also further explain that the latter's food was delicious.

Neji and Hanabi were just surprised. They never expected this. But they just have understood the Hyuuga Heiress. Maybe she was doing this to boost her social life and who knows?

A certain person came out from kitchen. It was none other Hinata Hyuuga herself who was wearing a different set of clothes which consisted of simple lavender t shirt accompanied by a simple long pinkish skirt went to her ankles.

Neji and Hanabi both noted the sudden changed of aura in her. She was more beautiful than they thought. They were just shocked and surprised right now.

When they came face to face with the latter, she then gave both the Hyuuga cousins a warm smile." N-Neji-kun, H-Hanabi-chan, you guys are just right in time." She said with a stutter, but it had confidence in the end.

Both cousins gave surprised and confused looks at each other. This is making them crazy bit by bit. Just what in the world is going here?

* * *

 **(Interview)**

 **"I'm not really sure what the heck is going on but this was probably the most surprising and unexpected scene that we entered into."**

 **-Hanabi**

 **"I'm just loss for words, besides seeing Hinata-sama in a different aura, I tried not to bother about her bringing her whole team here.**

 **-Neji**

* * *

 **(MEANWHILE)**

Sarada had finally reached her destination. She was now in front of the Uchiha Compound entrance. The Uchiha girl then checked the time. It was still in the afternoon, so she had the time to explore the place.

Apparently, the compound had been converted to memorial tourist spot of sorts and right now, only a few people were visiting the place. Sarada then proceeded to the compound entrance, she felt goose bumps all over her body as she slowly walked herself to the entrance door.

She heard that the place was considered haunted. Considering that many died here because of one sword.

" _Come on Sarada, You ain't afraid of no ghost_." She tried to motivate herself repeatedly. She then took a deep breath and entered the compound.

If she wants to know the answers to her questions. She gotta face the challenge.

* * *

 **(Interview)**

 **"Well, To be truthful, I am really creeped out on being into these kinds of places with a dark and tragic history. Plus, I am going alone by myself which is a bummer but I'll try not to freak out if I see anything out of the ordinary."**

 **-Sarada**

* * *

 **(MEANWHILE)**

The day had finally reached the later afternoon. Along with that, the night life had began making its presence across the entirety of the village. The weather retained its cold and windy aspect covering every area of the village.

In a certain small alleyway, a certain blonde sat down on a make shift chair.

Boruto yawned out loud. He was currently at the backyard area of the ramen shop, attempting to replenished his daily energy. The countless swarm of customers seemed to have taken him to the brink of quitting yet he managed to held himself throughout the day.

Boruto rubbed his eyes as he slowly checked the time on his small watch and read:

5:45PM

He still had a few hours to go before he can finally go home. Specifically, He was still gonna face the wrath of the evening rush hour. Probably the most scariest of all of rush hours besides the morning and lunch hours.

It really left him drained but in turn gained more experienced.

He bothered his head and then looked up and gazed at the sun, that was setting. He wondered on what the two girls were doing back at the apartment. His Uchiha teammate should've adjust her schedule by now. Contrary to popular belief, she was now away from the dangers of a busy weekday schedule.

He then realized that he was the only one pending to go home.

"You've got to be kidding me." He commented and gave a chuckle.

This was his personal choice, aside from being jobless weeks ago, he had chosen this kind of job because of a simple reason of reconnecting or establishing a connection with certain blonde counterpart.

* * *

 **(Interview)**

 **"Well, My body is beaten up by the every day stress yet, somehow, I was able to hold on. Was it because of that desire? I don't know.**

 **-Boruto**

* * *

Several minutes had passed, The teenage blonde then decided to head back to the main frontlines of the kitchen.

As he slowly took the steps towards the familiar curtains, he began to hear a loud commotion outside. It was also accompanied by sounds of surprise and laughter.

It made him more curious.

"Must be customers." Boruto muttered to himself as he then grabbed his apron and chef's hat, wearing it once more to take on the next challenge.

By the time he reached the front of the house, he was then met by an unexpected surprised.

"Mr. Teuchi." Boruto widened his eyes. He was surprised to see the famous owner of the ramen shop.

"Hello there Bolt, I just wanted to check on you guys. I hope that working here isn't too stressful for you." The old man explained. He was currently attending a seminar, which had just finished and decided to head towards the shop to continue monitor the ongoing daily operations.

"Oh I see." Boruto gave a smiled." No sir, I really loved this job a lot! In fact, I really enjoyed serving ramen to the people hehe." He chuckled, trying boost the mood of the place.

"That's Right! Bolt-san is already abe part of the Ichiraku family now!" Ayame cheered and added. She was glad the young man was here. Because of him the ramen shop saw an inclusive economic growth and has attracted a lot of customers.

"Aww, Thank you very much you guys!" Boruto felt tearing up with joy. He could only smile. He sure was part of the family now. This kind of encouragement gave him more motivation and in fact instantly replenished his energy. He knew he was now ready for the last wave.

Yet, The afternoon wasn't complete without another surprise.

Soon, the thick curtains of the shop slowly opened, garnering the attention of the rest as they turned their eyes towards the front, at the same time, their thoughts began to come alive.

"Looks like a new customer." Boruto thought to himself as he prepared an empty bowl of Ramen. Although, unbeknownst to him, he was in for the best surprised of the day.

A certain blonde teenager, donning an black and orange jumpsuit, with three whisker-like marks on his cheeks finally stepped right inside with a huge grin.

"How's it going guys! I'm back!" The certain blonde greeted.

There was silence that took over the area.

Teuchi and Ayame's eyes immediately widened in surprised and shocked. They immediately recognized this person in front of them. The famous blonde patron and the most knucklehead Shinobi they had ever met had returned.

"You're back!" Ayame was the first one to open her mouth, breaking the silence as she happily exclaimed.

She even went towards the teenager and welcomed him with a huge embraced.

"We missed you much Naruto-kun!"

Boruto frozed as he almost dropped the empty bowl that he was holding onto. His hands were shaking and his heart was beating. He immediately recognized the certain person in front of him.

It was none other than his old man, the teenage version of him.

"It's been a long time guys!" The ever grinning Naruto greeted." Really can't wait for dinner Dattebayo!" He added.

Ayame smiled back, as she headed back to the counter." So what would you like for this evening?" She asked.

It was really good to be back and he missed the scent of the signature Ramen. His eyes moved around and saw a new collection of dishes being displayed. In seconds, he finally found what he was looking for.

"Well, I guessed I'll have the usual!" The blonde said, moving his eyes around once more until stopping his attention towards a certain person wearing a chef uniform.

"Hmm, A new chef?" He thought to himself as he observed the new guy.

He did not recognize this person at all. Did the shop got a new staff member while he was away? Even that, He had the same blonde hair and blue eyes as him! Except for the scar and patches on his cheeks.

He somehow looked familiar.

There was another silence that took over the area. Boruto's mind was on hot wheels. He didn't know what to say right now.

Meanwhile, father and daughter had turned their attention towards the young man . They were confused and wondering on why he was giving a very surprised and shocked reaction towards the young patron.

"Come on you're braver than this!" His mind was on overdrive as he thought of a way to continue the conversation.

Boruto then took a deep breath and opened his mouth to finally say his own greeting.

"Nice to meet to you, I'm the new guy by the way."

* * *

 **(Interview)**

 **"Despite the awkwardness around, I managed to introduced myself the most casual way as possible. That's an Achievement Dattebasa!**

 **-Boruto**

* * *

 **CHAPTER ENDS**

 **AN: Thank you for reading the chapter**!


	18. Arc 2: Meetings 2

**Disclaimer:**

 **I don't own Naruto. Kishimoto Does.**

 **Author's note: Hey there Readers!, I'm back with a new chapter! I Hope you guys enjoy! I would also like to thank you guys for the Reviews. Favorites, and follows :) Thank you for also sharing your tips and thoughts for the story.**

 **I'm also currently sick right now but I still managed to find time to write the chapter.**

 **Expect Grammar and Spelling mistakes**

* * *

 **Arc 2**

 **Chapter 5: Meetings Part 2**

"I never thought the compound would be this big."

Sarada commented. Her onyx eyes darted around and observed every area in the whole compound. She described the place as a small village inside a big village. It was just unbelievable to see this place in front of her eyes. Apparently, the compound itself was destroyed during the invasion of the Akatsuki leader Pein, who was then defeated by the young seventh hokage.

The Uchiha girl was mesmerized by every information that she could learn here in person. She even saw and read the Uchiha vow and pledge at a certain area in the compound. The only disappointing that she had wished that her camera would be here now so that she can document this experience.

The whole place was almost empty so it was really quiet. Sarada would have to traverse the every area in the compound right now. During her little exploration the Uchiha girl thought she caught a glimpse of the mysterious customer just now although maybe it was just her imagination so she moved on.

She continued to explore the place until she reached a certain area which really surprised her. Sarada observed the area that she was in. "You've got to be kidding me." She muttered under breath.

The Uchiha girl found herself in the main Uchiha family house. She was also staring a family picture that she had never seen before but she definitely recgonized a certain person in the picture itself. The family picture consists of four people. The parents, and the two male siblings. There was a boy in that picture that she did recognized.

"Papa?" Sarada whispered. She was staring at her father who was still a boy in this picture.

"Papa looks cute though." She commented. She was just surprised and amused the fact that this was how her father looked like when he was a kid.

As the raven haired teen continued to study and observed the picture, she learned that these was her grandparents, Mikoto and Fugaku Uchiha and She also noticed the other kid in the picture which really looked familiar.

"So this is Papa's big brother." Sarada muttered. She described the person in the picture as a prodigy, a guy with full of potential in life but was destroyed by the fate of events that was bound to happen.

Sarada sighed. She could feel the strongest emotions in this particular house. She could imagine the scenario of a family having dinner together or happily bonding together. She was just wondering how would that end up into a tragedy.

The feeling of sadness started to enter her mind. She suddenly thought of how her Papa handled this kind of situation. Witnessing his loved ones perished one by one at hands of his big brother who he looked up to all this time.

She then decided to take another looked at the photo and observed her young uncle that she never met before. A few moments of observing led her to a surprising thought. Her uncle in the photo kind of reminder of someone from just awhile ago.

Sarada then widened her eyes." The Customer!?" She exclaimed. It was just impossible to believe it. It could be just a simple coincidence but how come the one picture and the one that she had met in the cafe looked alike!?

This was really creeping the raven haired teen out. She then felt an urged to leave the place because there was this presence that she suddenly felt was near around her.

 **"I gotta feeling that you would be here** " A voice of young man said from behind.

Sarada then turned around to see a person that she immediately recognized. Her eyes widened as she was staring at the mysterious customer who visited the cafe/shop awhile ago. Just who exactly is this guy?

"Y-You're the customer that ordered the Tiramisu cake!" Sarada was just on overdrive. She was so in panic mode that she just let out whatever she can say from her mouth.

After a few moments of freaking out. the raven haired teen finally calmed down." You're Itachi Uchiha." She muttered aloud. She didn't know what to do right now except that there's a dangerous criminal in front of her.

When the girl finally figured it out. The older brother of Sasuke Uchiha just sighed. He was wondering on why this girl, from the bakery cafe/shop would go visit this place that was not even a significance to her.

"Why are you here in the village? I thought you were with the Akatsuki group." Sarada asked. She was confused, why would a person like him would return in the place which he killed every family that he had in his life.

Itachi sighed yet again but smiled." You're right I'm still with them, but is there something wrong with visiting the place where I grew up?" He asked while the raven haired teen just stared at him with a confused look.

"The question is, what are you doing here in a place like this?" Itachi added. He also wondered what is this girl even doing here.

"Well, I just wanted to learn more about the history of Uchihas." Sarada explained. She also drew out her book about the history of every clans throughout the years as a proof that she had no bad intentions right now.

Itachi closed his eyes and sighed." You know being a bookworm can sometimes ruin your education." He said.

"What do you mean?" Sarada asked.

"In simple terms, You are a clever girl, It was a good thing you decided to visit this place to learn more about the clan." Itachi explained. He mean't that it was good thing for the girl for not siding with just books. Some of these books tell good general knowledge but it only speculations and theories.

Sarada frowned." I know that! I'm not that kind of a bookworm alright?" She was just annoyed. She doesn't depend on general information. If she wanted to learn more about this then she would go to that place.

Itachi slightly chuckled." You know, you kind of remind me of my little brother." the older Uchiha commented as he remembered his old naive young brother.

Sarada just kept quiet. It was true, she really resembled his Papa in a way. She had to admit that meeting her uncle in person was a surreal thing for her. It's like meeting a famous historical figure in history.

Itachi observed the girl, there was something strange about this girl. It was like he had known her for a long time but did he met her before? She somehow looked familiar and it was challeging him to figure it out.

As for Sarada, a thought then came into her mind. Why don't she spend the remaining time and asked questions to clarify her doubts. She was with the real deal in front of her. This is way for her to get to know the uncle that she had never met before.

Sarada then took a deep breath. She was now prepared to asked him this.

"Can you tell me your side of the story?

* * *

 **(Interview)**

 **"Since I was in front of the main source, I might as well him about the whole truth, on what had transpired that night. I wanna know everything, the real reason, the objective, and the conspiracy behind it.**

 **-Sarada**

* * *

 **(MEANWHILE)**

It was just a surprising moment for one Boruto Uzumaki. He had just met his young father face to face. He wasn't expecting that he would be here that soon. He had to admit that he was caught off guard by the surprised. He managed to regain his composure and greeted his young dad.

Naruto was surprised and confused. Who was this new guy? He hadn't seen this person before. He observed the new guy in front of him. He had the same blonde hair and eyes just like him but he had scar on his right eye and two patches from both sides of his cheeks. He looked as if he had been into a recent fight somewhere.

"He looks strange." Naruto raised an eyebrow in doubt." And somehow familiar?"

There was this awkward silence that continued on. Boruto, who just wanted to get out of the situation found himself being stuck in the middle of it. All eyes were on him so he had to find a way to get out of this awkwardness once and for all.

By the time he had thought of a way. Ayame had already bailed him out, much too his sigh of relief.

"I guess this is the first time, you've met our new member of the family." Ayame finally broke the awkward silence. She then turned to the blonde in chef's uniform, who was secretly sweating in nervousness.

Naruto who had finally understood everything so far from the Ayame, smiled." Well then new guy, I'm Naruto Uzumaki! Good to meet you!" The blondegreeted as he then offered his hand to him.

Boruto who blinked a couple times, snapped from his thoughts. He then immediately returned the offer and shook hands with his young dad.

"This is really weird." He thought to himself, he had never done this before, treating his father as if he was just a friend. Although, there was no other choice, if he wanted to establish a connection with him, he needed to befriend him no matter what.

He also observed his counterpart. This was the first time that he met the younger version of him. He wore this black and orange jumpsuit which he found a bit weird. He also had a very long spiky hair compare to the future version of him, which had a more short and trimmed hairstyle.

"H-Hey there Da- I mean Naruto, you can call me Bolt." Boruto introduced himself in his alternate name. He almost made a mistake by calling him "Dad."

"Okay?" Naruto muttered aloud." Why is he struggling to speak?" He thought to himself, the new guy kind of reminded him of Hinata, who was also had the same stuttering problem.

"Well, nevermind about that." He added as he turned his thoughts to ordering his favorite dish.

"Well guys, I'm starving!." Naruto exclaimed as he sat down on his usual favorite seat.

Teuchi then grinned proudly." Alright then, You can order whatever you want!" He said while the blonde just excitedly grinned.

Boruto, who had retreated behind the scenes, could only observed the current scene unfolding. He then proceeded to cook the ramen as per requested by the other. He made sure that the ramen will be delicious as possible. He kept his eyes on the other Uzumaki, still wanting to observed him, since he just can't believed that it was really his old man.

* * *

 **(Interview)**

 **"I was pretty much in disbelief. I really couldn't get over the fact that I finally met young old man in person and I never thought this would be more awkward than I thought. (Chuckles)**

 **-Boruto**

* * *

At the same time, the banners of the ramen shop lifted and another familiar person entered the scene. It was brown haired man wearing what seemed to be a shinobi attire. Boruto then recognized the man as the academy principal, Iruka-sensei. He pondered on why he was here. He then immediately learned that the man was here to treat the blonde since he had not seen him in two years.

"Iruka-sensei!" Naruto widened his eyes in suprised. He immediately stood up from his seat and headed over the brown haired man, giving him a hug.

"It's been a long time Naruto, You've grown tall!" Iruka had commented, giving his own obsevation.

"Yeah right! I get that a lot nowadays!" The Uzumaki replied with a grin." I guess you're here for dinner too?" He asked.

Iruka nodded." Of course! I am also here to give my student a free treat!" He added, which even made the younger blonde jumped for joy.

"Yes! That's what I am talking about!" Naruto raised a small fist.

Iruka could only sighed." You still have that same hyperactive attitude." He commented, before turning his towards the other young blonde.

"Hmmm? He looks familiar." Iruka thought to himself." Have I seen him before?" He added, before finally recalling a memory.

"Hey there, aren't you the kid, who registered at The Hokage office?" He asked.

Boruto's attention immediately turned to the man." Uhmm, Yes sir." He replied, before continuing his task filling up the bowl with the delicious ramen content and serving it to him.

"Tell me how did it go?" He followed up a question.

Naruto's attention then slowly turned towards the new guy." Registering to be a Shinobi?" He thought to himself. He also wondered if a person like him could handle the duties of a Shinobi.

The pressure then came back to Boruto, he found himself again at the hot seat. He took a deep breath and began to fight the pressure by simply staying casual." Well, it went okay I guess." He said." Actually waiting for the results." He gave a small chuckle to eliminate the awkwardness.

Iruka simply nodded." Oh I see." He said." I hope it goes well for you!" He smiled.

"Thank you sir." Boruto replied back as he finally served the hot Ramen.

It was at this time that the situation had escaped from the silence as the customers started pour in once more and everyone found themselves minding their own business.

As time then passed by, Boruto was a witness to an important conversation between Iruka and the blonde. He learned that the school principal was actually his young dad's first sensei and the one who was responsible for his dad to promoted to genin in the first place

Boruto was secretly moved to sadness when he learned that Iruka was one of the people who treated his young dad as family. He also learned first hand on how hid dad graduated in the academy and that really amazed him. The blonde wanted to stay for an extended period of time but he knew that his time was nearing out.

By the time, Boruto was given the signal to go home, He had no choice but to go. His little sister was alone in the apartment and had prepared for dinner. He let his big brother side take him over, He then clocked out and gave Teuchi and Ayame goodbyes and left the ramen shop through the back door.

* * *

 **(Interview)**

 **"Well, it's something that I'm not used to. I needed to also gather myself and recover.**

 **-Boruto**

* * *

While eating his ramen, Naruto noticed that the new guy had left. He then wondered why the guy was silent the whole time. He was welcome to join the conversation but he chose not to join.

"Something the matter, Naruto?" Iruka asked. He noticed the blonde was being quiet.

"I was just wondering about that new guy, He seemed really familiar." Naruto explained. He was wonderimg about the new guy just now.

"Well, I've seen him before." Iruka said which surprised the blonde.

"Really?" Naruto asked.

Iruka sighed." Well, from what I know from Lady Tsunade, She told me that He is a newcomer to this village." He explained.

"So that explains on why I never seen him before." Naruto said. He now knows the reason why but still doesn't explain why he looked so familiar.

"What else do you know about him, Iruka-sensei?" Naruto asked yet again.

Iruka shook his head." That's all I know, Lady Tsunade just said that He came from a small village far away from here." He explained. He just heard a little information about him from the fifth.

I also think they would be assigned to a team soon." He explained. To be honest, He only seen the new guy at the Hokage office once when the teenage blonde visited the office a week ago.

"So they're Certified Shinobis already!?" Naruto was surprised. He did not expect that they would be assigned on missions already. If they were to be assigned on missions then they have to be good.

"Calm down Naruto, Lady Hokage also said that they will be assigned as observers, so they can't interfere on the main mission." Iruka explained further.

"Oh." Naruto muttered. This was the first time he heard that a newbie or possibly a person without knowledge of being a Shinobi would be assigned to a team. He also doubt if the new guy could handle big battles. He really looked liked just normal person to be honest. He also wondered about that scar on his right eye. What caused that scar?

As for Iruka, He was wondering if this Bolt person is not what he seemed to be. Of course he did not want to go into conclusions yet. But if he had time he could engaged the guy into a conversation and get to know him more.

As for Naruto, He was eager to know more about the new guy. He seemed to have potential. Maybe he could challenge him into a sparring match if the opportunity calls for it. He wanted to see how strong this new guy is.

* * *

 **(MEANWHILE)**

Sarada found herself and her Uncle strolling around the vicinity of the compound. It was almost late afternoon and the raven haired teen was listening to the latter's story. He told her about the real Uchiha clans history and why the clan continued to be bitter and hopeless through the years.

Along the way, they managed to find an empty bench and sat there. Sarada chose to stand while the other chose sit on the bench.

"So why did you do it?" Sarada asked. She was reffering to the real reason why her uncle had massacred the whole clan

Itachi sighed. He knew that she was going to asked the question. It was really a complicated thing to explain that right now. But he had to make sure that he will not spill the most important beans. This was highly classified.

"Let's just say that the fate of village's existence depends on it." Itachi simply said.

Sarada was confused. Why would he massacre his clan that was also a part of the village. According to the most common information that she learned prior to meeting her Uncle, It was an act of vengance against the village and the clan.

"If you were to choose to spare between the two which one would it be? The whole village itself? or your own clan that is planning to overthrow the Hokage and start a civil war that had the potential of killing many innocent people." Itachi straightforwardly said. He recalled that time when he had to be decisive to prevent more chaos from happening.

Sarada was speechless, She never knew that the clan would do such a thing. It was a big revelation for her to know from the main source of it all. She would go on to learn that her Uncle did it for the greater good although it cost the death of his best friend, Her Uncle Shisui. There was also one thing that man did go against, which was that he spared one person which was his little brother.

"I can't bring myself to kill Sasuke, He was my younger brother." Itachi said. He just loved his younger brother, He was the only family that he got right now.

Sarada remained quiet. She was saddened the fact that her Uncle was forced to do it against his own will. She also learned that the conflict started after the Kyuubi Incident and the blame was put into the clan itself thus starting a chain reaction of events that led to the clans demise.

"I'm sorry to hear what happened." Sarada apologized. She had no knowledge of the whole picture but she was glad to know the reasons and truth.

Itachi smiled for the first time. This girl was different from any person that he met nowadays, that would insult him and bragged him about being a traitor and a criminal. However, this girl chose to understand his story and even sympathize with him. Just who was this girl?

"So that's why you occasionally visit the village and the compound because you missed it?" Sarada asked.

"Yes." Itachi nodded. This is where He grew up and this place has brought him the happiest memories and plus He was still proud to call himself a Shinobi of Konoha.

Then there was something that came up to the older Uchiha's mind. He never knew anything about this girl let alone that she worked in the bakery shop.

"Night time is almost there, You're parents must be worried about you." Itachi said. There was a little bit of concerned growing inside of him. She was just all alone by herself and night time was fast approaching.

Sarada gave a sad smile." Well, I'm actually an orphan. I came from a small village far away from here. My parents passed along time ago. She explained as small tears were forming in her eyes.

Itachi was surprised and shocked to hear the latter's statement. He would go on to learn that she was one of three orphans who escaped their small village which were destroyed by raiders and bandits.

Itachi was saddened to hear the teen's story. He secretly expressed his rage by remaining silent. It was too much for this world already. When will all the destruction and death end? It was just a neverending cycle.

Sarada could really see the anger and sorrow of the latter in front of her. She never knew that her uncle would let out emotions, he was known for his emotionless personality and appearance.

Itachi then looked up and gave the latter a sad smile." So what are you doing nowadays? How are you coping with this?" He asked.

Sarada sighed but smiled. She remembered her Mama's words of staying positive and happy all the time.

"Well, I'm just gonna say that I'm very lucky to have spend time with my parents rather than never knowing them personally." Sarada explained.

Itachi then looked up and gave a surprised looked. He wasn't expecting this kind of answer from the raven haired teen.

Sarada would go on to explain that it's not about grieving or mourning every time you lose someone. It all about how looking back and seeing the positive things that happened and will also help you moved on. She would go on to tell her uncle that life is precious and a choice, You either choose to be grieving and blaming yourself or staying positive and changing things for the better.

Itachi was surprised to hear this from the girl. She had a lot of points. Grieving for the rest of your life is not the right thing to do. This also inspired the older Uchiha to do more better as a person. He then stood from his seat and embraced the girl like how an Uncle would do to her niece.

"Thank you for telling me." Itachi stood. He strangely felt comfortable now talking to the girl as if she was part of his loved ones.

Sarada on the other hand was surprised by the hug. She did not expect that the dangerous Itachi Uchiha would have a soft side. Sensing that it was the right time. Itachi let out a bit of his emotions and for first time just let it go.

Sarada could only comfort her Uncle. This was the first time she had seen him in this state. Who knew she could make her Uncle emotional for a bit or maybe she didn't think a grown man like him could

* * *

 **(MEANWHILE)**

It might be the most awkward thing that Hanabi and Neji had been to. They felt like that they were strangers at their own home or were they just not used to seeing Hinata happily enjoying and eating with her team. It was like seeing a different person all together. There were times that she would not stutter during the conversation and would also cracked up jokes.

'You know, I think this is the best food I've ever tasted!" Kiba commented. This was the first time that he was eating his teammate's cooking which surprisingly good.

Hinata smiled." Why Thank you Kiba-kun." She thanked the latter. She delighted to see her teammates enjoying.

"Say Hinata, I never seen you wear these kind of clothes before, A change in fashion sense perhaps?" Shino commented. He was just curious about the latter's sudden change of style. To be honest, this was more better than her old mesh outfit.

Hinata smiled." W-Well, I guess wearing the same old clothes everyday is just really weird." She commented which caused laughter throughout the rest of her team. Who knew she could make them laughed.

Hanabi just forced a smile. In truth, she was weirded out right now. She had not seen her big sister in that kind of state. Why was she doing this? Was she experiencing some kind of teenage crisis? She was not her usual self. She also wondered on where did she get these new clothes, she recalled that her big sister was not interested in shopping for new clothes before.

The younger Hyuuga also wondered about Neji's opinion on this. She then turned to her left and then saw his big cousin eating the food in silent. Hanabi could only sighed." He's even enjoying it." she thought inside her head.

Hanabi had plan. A plan to fixed the sibling relationship that had been broken ever since. She had planned to talk to her for the first time but it was her sister that would always be busy and focused on other things. If that Naruto guy ever comes back, she's gonna start stalking him again.

Hanabi then darted her eyes to her big sister. There was one strange thing that she noticed about her. She really looked like a person who has aged in 3-4 years. A young adult to be exact or maybe it was just the new clothes that was making her looked like that.

For whatever reason, she really have to talk to her right away.

* * *

 **(Interview)**

 **"Well, I could only say that my big sister is having a personality change. I'm still not sure, I guess it was the mysterious dreams that she has been having recently.**

 **-Hanabi**

* * *

By the time, The special afternoon ocassion had finished. Hinata's team had already left the compound with a full stomach and an afternoon to remember. The living room was now quiet and Hanabi had managed to find time to set up a conversation with her big sister.

While Neji was cleaning up the plates and the table. The Hyuuga siblings were outside the main house. They were currently in the compound's small garden in small bench. The older Hyuuga was sitting while the other stood in front of her.

Hanabi stared at her big sister who kept quiet for most of the time. She was trying to figure out on what went wrong on this. She didn't want to think of her big sister slowly descending into crazyness. She just wanted to know the sudden change in her character.

"You know I never knew you could cook delicious food." Hanabi commented while the other formed a small smile.

"You even made Big cousin eat a lot just now." She added while Hinata smiled yet again.

Hanabi then sighed." I appreciate what you've done just now but there is something that is bothering me." She explained.

"Neji told me that you've been experiencing this weird dreams lately and We are worried about you." Hanabi said. She was just worried about her big sister.

Hinata just stared at her sister. She was giving her a surprised and confused look.

"I'm not saying that is dead serious or whatsoever but if you really need help or something, You can talk to us." Hanabi explained. She wanted her big sister to be alright.

"Is there something bothering you lately?" She asked while the latter was just remained silent.

Hanabi sighed." You know if you really missed that Naruto guy, we could invite him in the house if he ever comes back." She then explained.

Hinata's eyes and ears lit up. She then stared at her little sister." H-Hanabi, It's alright I'm o-okay with this." She explained. She declined the offer.

Hanabi could only sighed. What does she really want? She was confused. Somehow she can't get the truth out of the latter.

"You know what, I apologized for not believing in you Big sis, Neji too." Hanabi explained.

"Neji knows that he is not the greatest cousin in the world and same goes for me. I'm not the perfect little sister to begin with." She paused to catch her breath.

"But I want you to know that we still love you no matter what." Hanabi then smiled. It was true, She still loved her big sister.

Silence took over yet again. Hanabi waited for the latter's answer but she just sat there and remained silent. A few moments later, The Hyuuga heiress looked up and gave her little sister a smile.

Hinata then stood up and embraced her little sister." T-Thank you." These were the only words that Hanabi heard. She also returned the hug back.

 **"Hey girls!** " The voice of Neji then interrupted the two.

"I don't wanna sound like a ghost and ruin your sibling moment but you don't wanna miss favorite show Hanabi." Neji explained.

Hanabi gave her big cousin a smile." Yeah, I'll be right there!" She yelled out to the latter.

Hanabi then turned back to her big sister." Hey you can join us if you want to alright?" She asked.

Hinata nodded her head and gave a smile." Y-You go on ahead Hanabi, I just wanna spend the time in the garden for awhile." She explained. She wanted more time for herself in the meantime.

"You sure about that?" Hanabi asked while the latter nodded.

By the time Hanabi left and went inside, Hinata stayed in the small garden for awhile. She enjoyed the view of the sunset and the silence around her surroundings. There were thoughts going around her mind at the moment.

She recalled these mysterious dreams that she had been having recently. Dreams about having these memories that she was sure she did not have. Memories about living in the same but different village, having a family of her own and lastly seeing an older version of herself.

Hinata then looked up and gazed at the sky. She then sighed. How could these dreams be affecting her? These dreams that somehow boosted her confidence, gave her the energy, and was slowly changing her into a different person.

She was afraid to tell her cousin and little sister. But somehow they were aware about it.

 _"Naruto-Kun_." These were the only two words that she can let out from her mouth.

Hinata wondered about the person that she truly cared about. She had to admit that she had feelings for him since they were kids.

When he will be back?

* * *

 **(MEANWHILE)**

When first signs of night time had finally arrived, Sarada felt cold. The Uchiha girl found herself walking along the quiet streets of the village. After spending time conversing with the Uncle that she never met in person before, It was then decided that it was time for the girl to go home and part ways with the latter. She was tired and she had heard enough information from the latter.

Before they parted ways, Sarada had asked the older Uchiha on what he was gonna do now and He only told her that he would be returning back to the Akatsuki and then resume his work there as an agent for both sides. His last request was to the girl was to tell his younger brother if he ever return to the village, that he still loved him no matter what.

Sarada simply nodded and kept the promise. She was aware that her Papa was a missing nin in this timeline so if she ever had the chance to bump into him, She's really gonna bring his senses back to normal.

As the sunset came into an end, Sarada found herself in the night life district of the village. It was brewing with lots of neon lights that can almost blind you. The Uchiha girl then observed her surroundings, She then widened her eyes as she saw a familiar blonde walking along the area.

"Boruto?" Sarada muttered as she quickly proceeded to call her teammate's name to get his attention but there was no response.

"Boruto!" She called out again as she was now slightly running. She was already catching up with the latter when she unknowingly tripped.

Sarada was caught off guard and found herself falling on the ground when someone caught her just in time.

"Sarada-chan are you alright?" The familiar voice of Boruto said.

Sarada who shut down her own eyes, immediately opened it and she found herself staring at the latter's cerulean eyes. The Uchiha girl then felt her heart beat faster.

On the other hand, Boruto was stuck in a similar situation again. He heard his friend's voice calling him and when he turned around, he immediately saw her falling to the ground and he reacted fast enough for him to catch the girl from falling on the ground. Now he found himself staring at the girl's beautiful onyx eyes. He wasn't sure on what to do this time around.

Sarada, who was just shocked and caught off guard at the moment then turned red and gave the blonde an unexpected slap in the face.

"What the heck are you doing here? Baka! I was calling your name ten times already and I almost fell!" Sarada exclaimed. She then recovered fast and stood up and gave an annoyed face.

Boruto could only scratched his head." Well, I don't wanna sound like a kid but I somehow got lost on the way home, ya know." He explained while giving a nervous apologetic looked.

Sarada could only stare at him with a frowned looked but eventually, she cooled down and gave a sighed." Seriously Boruto? you are 16 now for crying out loud." She said. How could a person like him get lost in a place like this?

The blonde was about to say something when he was then cut by the latter.

"Nevermind, Let's just go home." Sarada said as she beckoned the blonde to follow her.

Boruto blinked a couple of times before realizing that the Uchiha girl was now a few distances a way from her. The blonde then immediately hurried his way from his former position to catch up with the raven haired teen.

"Sarada-chan! slow down! You walk too fast Dattebassa!"

* * *

 **(Interview)**

 **"I wonder what the heck has she been up to throughout the day? Did she crossed paths with someone important?**

 **-Boruto**

* * *

 **(MEANWHILE)**

It was uneventful night at the Hokage office. Tsunade yawned as she just finished another stack of paperwork. She wondered when this will end. She hadn't got a proper rest since the start of the day. It was about time for her to call this quits for awhile and go back to bed.

"You sure you are doing fine Lady Hokage?" Shizune asked.

The blonde woman just sighed." Yes, I'm fine, I just hope that there will no more rounds of stacks after this one." She said. She was almost done with her work. She was signing the last few papers.

Shizune felt sorry for the latter. If she were Hokage she even doubt she could handle these kinds of things. She was just lucky enough.

"Lady Tsunade?" Shizune called the latter's name yet again.

"Yes, What is it Shizune?" Tsunade asked.

"Are you sure about assigning them to Kakashi's team?" Shizune asked.

Tsunade then gave a look at the younger woman." Yes, they're the only team that had available slots . They just have to wait for an announcement." She then explained.

"Oh okay then. But if there is a mission available right now, what kind of mission will it be like? Lady Hokage?" Shizune asked.

There was complete silence in the whole room. Tsunade was eerily silent. She knew that she was prepared to break the news.

She then took a deep breath." The Sand Village had recently sent an emergency message to the leaf not too long ago." She explained.

Tsunade would go on to explain that the message was about regarding the sudden capture of the Kazekage by the Akatsuki and the leaf village was going to send teams right away to assist.

Shizune was shocked over the news. How could she not know this!? "Which teams are you gonna send Lady Hokage?" She asked.

The blonde haired Hokage was silent. She knew that there were teams that were only capable on dealing with these kinds of missions. She then took a deep breath yet again and opened her mouth.

"Team Kakashi and Team Gai."

* * *

 **(LATER ON)**

A surprised Himawari found herself staring at the blonde and raven haired teen. She wondered what has happened to the two this whole day. Sarada was looking stress-free while Boruto had slap mark on his cheek.

"How's your day guys?" Himawari asked. She was eager to know the news.

"I'm pretty sure a lot happened Hima-chan." Boruto could only grin. He just wanted to eat his dinner. He was hungry.

Sarada then gave her a look and then smiled." Well, I think you're Nii-chan here is really hungry now." She simply explained.

"Oh okay. Just to let you know that dinner is ready, so just seat and dig in." The lavender haired girl explained as she led them to the dinner table.

"Today's dinner is good old fish noodle soup." She announced.

"Man! I'm starving ya know!" Boruto exclaimed as he quickly sat down at the dinner table.

"Hold on your horses, Knucklehead, Ladies first." Sarada said as she sat down at her seat followed by the lavender haired girl.

"Oh come on now Sarada-chan, You're still a young girl ya know that. Hehe." Boruto said in a jokingly manner.

Sarada forced a smile."Boro, do you want your other cheek to have a slap mark this time?" She fired back with extreme sarcasm in her tone of voice.

"Easy there, I'm just joking ya know. Haha." Boruto said as he raised up his hands in the air.

Himawari could only chuckle. She really liked their chemistry together. It blends well enough for them to be a lovely fun couple.

As the trio enjoyed their dinner, the blonde and raven haired teen began to tell their experiences during the day. Himawari just sat there listening, she was surprised the fact that the Uchiha girl was able to meet her Uncle in the Uchiha compound while the blonde was able to meet their one and only dad face to face. Boruto would go on to explained that he didn't managed to get a proper conversation with their dad because had to leave for home as it was his time.

Himawari sighed. She also want to meet her young dad in person. If Granny Tsunade was going to assign them to a team, she really hoped that it would be their dad's team. The famous Team 7.

Himawari could only smile. She felt that tomorrow was going to be a new but different day for them.

* * *

 **CHAPTER ENDS.**

 **AN: Thank you for reading the Chapter!**


	19. Arc 2: First Mission

**Disclaimer:**

 **I don't own Naruto. Kishimoto Does.**

 **Author's note: Hey there Readers!, I'm back with a new chapter! I Hope you guys enjoy! I would also like to thank you guys for the Reviews. Favorites, and follows :) Thank you for also sharing your tips and thoughts for the story.**

 **I'm still recovering from sickness but I was able to find time to write the chapter.**

 **I am also working on a new short story which is just for the fun of it.**

 **Take note: I will be busy for the coming days to come because of Exams. If I find free time then I will write the next chapter.**

 **Thank you for understanding :)**

 **Expect Grammar and Spelling mistakes**

 **P.S: I am just newbie so go easy on me**

* * *

 **Arc 2:**

 **Chapter 6: First Mission**

"It really feels nostalgic to be here."

Boruto stood on a grassy ground as he surveyed the area that he was in right now. It was a portion of land located inside of Konoha. There was a overview of the mountains and a large deep river with forests in the both of its sides. There is a glade along with three stumps lined up side by side.

The place was considered a tourist spot back in home. The certain spot where the future leaders and heroes of the village trained and began their journey. It was very lucky moment for the blonde teenager to be here right now for tenth time.

He was the only one person present so far in a very cold and quiet sunrise morning.

"Always a good place to get back in shape." Boruto commented, stretching up his arms and limbs throughout. He often knew that it was healthy for him to get away from the stress of everyday work.

Exercise was also a simple valid reason.

He first began his usual pre- warm up routine by doing a little bit of the basic stretching to get the joints , He then began to do some jugs until it became cardio runs that lasted for 10-20 rounds just around the area. The last stage of the basic warm up was basic breathing exercises for him to prepare for the main training.

By the time he had gone through the warm ups, he proceeded with the main training regimen.

The main training segment focused more on improving his skillset, such as improving the usage of his clones, trying out different elemental techniques and combining it with a little bit of his training games.

An example of those games were carving a circle or an X sign in a tree, then he would practice using his Vanishing Rasengan by throwing the tree from an enough long distance just to hit that main target.

Another one of his training routines was sparring with one of his clones, which took him to the next level.

These sparring sessions was also able to help him discover new moves and counter attacks, every time he was then thrown into a Taijutsu segment.

As the morning continued, a certain teenage Bushy brow had witnessed the whole thing unfold. Rock Lee had been gaping for a quite a time now as he stood there watching the blonde in awe.

"Amazing!" He commented.

Apparently, he had just arrived at the scene for his usual training routine, when discovered that someone was already here in the training grounds and it surprised him since he hadn't seen this new person before.

Although, as he went for a closer look, his eyes widened in suprised." Naruto?" He muttered to himself." Is He really back?" He asked. How could he have not known about this earlier? No one had told him that one of his friends has returned after a few years.

Yet, by the time he got a good look, it was then that he realized that person in front of him wasn't the Uzumaki himself but rather just a look alike or somesort. He was wearing this simple white t-shirt and black jogging pants. He had the same spiky blonde hair, blue eyes, and two white patches on his cheeks.

Rock Lee watched the blonde as he sparred with what seemed to be clone. He also wondered if this person was a Shinobi himself. He had never seen him before in this place. He was amazed the fact on how he moved along. The gracefulness, flair, and timing was just perfect.

"Man! How did he do that?" Bushy Brow wondered. He had never seen a person performed like this.

The training ended not too long and Bushy Brow was now planning to approach and converse with the blonde. Although, He wasn't sure how to start the talk with him but there was only one thing in his mind.

* * *

 **(Interview)**

 **"Since, He was not Naruto, I really wanted to meet him in person. I never really seen a person moved with such finesse and grace, It was amazing!"**

 **-Rock Lee**

* * *

By the time Boruto had finished his mini-training routine. He went to the area where the three wooden stumps were located.

A small sports bag was positioned on one of the stumps. As the teen reached the area, He reached his hand inside and grabbed a water bottle, and began drinking. He stayed in the area and enjoyed the fresh sunny and windy weather. He stared at the blue sky and new fully raised sun, taking a deep breath to refresh himself.

"Man, I really loved mornings like this." Boruto muttered aloud. His life wasn't complete without this specific routine. He can't stay outbof shape for a long time.

 **"Excuse me sir!"**

A male voice then interrupted the peacefulness. Boruto then turned around to face a somewhat quite familiar face.

"Metal Lee!?" Boruto exclaimed in his thoughts. In that few moments of shock, he thought he was staring at the ghost of Metal Lee or a hallucination of him, but would soon realized that this was indeed real yet this wasn't the hard working friend from home.

* * *

 **(Interview)**

 **"It really surprised me for a second there, Metal Lee and His Dad looked liked twins to be honest."**

 **-Boruto**

* * *

As for Rock Lee, having decided on what would be the right way to confront him. Just stopped his tracks right in front of the guy and greeted with a level of respect which even surprised the blonde himself.

"Man! you were awesome back there!" Rock Lee praised, trying to contain his excitement.

Rock Lee took a deep a breath before opening his mouth." How did you learned to move and spar like that!?" He commented with all the excitement suddenly bursting out from him.

Boruto was a bit taken a back, He scratched his head, thnking of what to say right now." Well, I really don't know but all I can say is Practice makes Perfect." He explained in the most simplistic way.

He was a bit unsure of his statement, he wasn't really good of breaking down the details and parts.

"I guess you're really right about that! And you're talking about Practice!" Rock Lee replied back, he was just hyped. His youth was booming out of control.

"Gai-sensei told me that if you want to have the strong spirit of Youth, You also gotta Practice! Not in a mission but during the time you're gonna practice! That's What I'm talking about!" Rock Lee exclaimed. He just recalled his sensei's teachings about practicing to have the spirit of Youth.

Boruto just stood there with an amused face. He really thought he was talking to the most energetic person in the world. He could really see the passion of this person and it turned out to be Metal Lee's father.

"That's a very interesting concept!." Boruto nodded. As much as he wanted to share his own ideas, He wasn't able to.

He was a bit loss for words right now.

"Yeah! sure is!" Bushy Brow replied, raising his fist in the air in the name of Youth.

Boruto could only smile and chuckle. If Metal Lee was here, These two would really get along with each other. They had the same hair, eyes, brows, and distinctive personalities. They were in fact carbon copies of each other thanks to the family genes.

"Hey are you alright?"

Boruto blinked a couple of times as he was brought back to reality." Uhmm, nothing at all! It's just that you kinda remind me of a friend from home." He explained.

Lee raised all of his eyebrows in surprised." Oh, really?" He reacted." He must be a student of Youth! I really should meet this friend of yours!" He added.

Boruto smiled." Well, You really should meet him! " He said" His a great person just like you." He added.

It was at this time that he checked his small watched and widened his eyes surprised with a little bit of panic." Oh shoot!" He muttered aloud as he immediately started to pack his things up.

"Hey, you're leaving soon?" Rock Lee asked.

Boruto simply sighed." Yeah, I really need to go, It's part of every day so...Maybe some other time?" He explained and apologized, before finally heading out.

The other blinked a couple of times, being dumbfounded for a few moments, His mind came back to life and he spoke."Hey! What's your name by the way?" He asked.

Hearing the last question, Boruto turned around and faced the teen for the finaly time." You can call me Bolt!" He replied as he disappeared from his counterpart's sight.

"Alright, Nice talking to you Bolt!" Rock Lee yelled out. He was quite a bit disappointed since the meeting lasted for a short time but he promised to himself that he will definitely meet this blonde once again.

* * *

 **(Interview)**

 **"He seemed to be a really nice guy. I wonder if he really is a Shinobi, He looked as if He waa for a long time."**

 **-Rock Lee**

* * *

 **(MEANWHILE)**

Sarada took a deep breath and smiled. She gazed at the sun which was beginning to rise. The Uchiha girl never felt so relax and feeling good this before. She was enjoying the morning hot tea that she was having now.

"So this what Hima is doing every morning." The Uchiha girl thought. She was just feeling surreal right now. If she had just listen to the latter's advice then she would've been doing this for awhile now.

"Everything alright? Sarada-nee?" The voice of Himawari asked the raven haired girl.

Sarada then turned around to see the lavender hairded girl. Who had just arrived at the scene. She also had her own cup of tea for a change. The raven haired teen suggested the latter to try this and she did.

"Hello Hima." Sarada greeted with a smile.

The lavender haired girl just smiled." Just finish preparing the breakfast, Nii-chan might be home soon." She explained as she joined the raven haired teen.

"Oh, so where's the knucklehead again?" Sarada asked, forgetting once more where her childhood friend had went off to, early in the morning.

"Well, Boro-nii told me that he was gonna get himself back into condition at the local training grounds." Himawari explained. She recalled how her big brother, very determined, woke up early morning and told her that he was gonna head out to the training grounds for awhile.

"Oh, that's something new." Sarada commented as she took sip of hee hot tea. This was the first that she heard her blonde teammate training early in the morning for the first time.

Himawari raised up her shoulders and smiled." Yeah, Since we are going to be assigned to a team soon so why not train get back in shape?" She explained.

"You're right, Maybe we should start training by now. We've been so occupied with everyday life that we've forgot that we're still a Shinobi." Sarada explained. She was a bit disappointed the fact that they didn't have the time to train themselves again.

Both girls talked about on how they were gonna pick up from here. They knew that sometime in the future, they'll have to be ready for any kind of threat. The past was a different place. Since they've finally settled and been living here for weeks, now it was the right time for them to get back into their former status. The conversation then shifted to them being recently assigned to team. They were not sure which team they will be going to but sure they hoped to be assigned on a good team.

Both of the girls also talked about, their recent doings for this week. With Himawari telling the older girl about her recent conversation with her Aunt Hanabi, to which she relied a very classified information regarding her Uncle Neji. His untimely death during the Fourth Shinobi War.

"Oh I see." Sarada nodded in understanding." Have also told-" She was about finish her second question but was cut by the girl.

"No I didn't tell him." Himawari simply said, before looking down." I felt that it was not the time to tell him yet." She added, with the reason of being fearful that it might severely affect the Hyuuga emotionally and mentally." Plus, Aunt Hanabi was able to understand that." She added, finally taking a deep breath.

Sarada nodded in understanding, the silence was overwhelming yet she still continued to share her story." Well, The other day, I unexpectedly met my uncle while I was at work." She explained, fully gaining the girl's attention.

"You mean you met your Uncle Itachi?" Himawari asked.

Sarada simply nodded." Yes, I met him two times, first at the shop when he was in his obvious disguise and second, at the Uchiha compound, where he was strolling around." She explained and continued." So I decided to converse with him and he told me the reason why he had to do it and I understood." She said.

Himawari gave a sad quiet look. She had heard about the infamous Uchiha Massacre, that happened many years ago, where raven haired teen's father was the only sole survivor. She can't imagine the horrors and innocent deaths that had transpired. Why would a person commit such an act?

"It's a complex reason to be honest." Sarada continued." Trust me, I was also confused the first time." She gave a little chuckle." But let's just say that if My Uncle didn't do that, the whole village will be destroyed." She explained, rubbing her forehead.

"You know Sarada-nee, We are really lucky that we have Uncles that are so brave yet so complicated." Himawari commented. She was referring to their uncles who can be considered as people who would do everything to protect their loved ones and deciding for the better.

Sarada smiled." Well, I guess we're really lucky." She agreed.

Silence took over the whole area. Both girls then gazed at the sunrise once more. Both were thinking and knowing that their Uncles would be risking their lives to protect them in the future. They really have to do something to prepare for that future.

* * *

 **(Interview)**

 **"Well, what can I say, I guess I'm very proud to have a complex Uncle."**

 **-Sarada**

* * *

 **(MEANWHILE)**

As the morning continued. The streets of the village slowly came to life. People were slowly filling up every area and doing their usual daily business. As for the blonde time traveller, He knew that had to be back in the apartment in time. So he found a way which was unusual for this time.

"Alright, Time for my trusty board." Boruto commented. He stopped his tracks and drew out a wooden board with four small wheels attached under it. The blonde smiled as he then hopped on the wooden board and rolled his way throughout the streets towards the apartment.

The wooden board with wheels that he had right now was actually by the blonde himself recently by hand. He knew that this would be in handy when the time comes. Boruto then found himself in a mini roller coaster ride. He was like in a video game, traversing the pathways, and avoiding every obstacle in the way. Of course, the random citizens passsing by were kind of surprised and new to this kind of thing, especially, the kids who were wondering about the blonde's new toy.

Not too long, the blonde arrived in his destination where he was greeted by an unexpected surprised. Apparently a certain person can be seen standing in front of the apartment building, He had white spiky hair and was wearing a mask to cover his lower face. The blonde teen widened his eyes, He immediately recognized the person.

The Sixth Hokage.

"Great Scott! I never knew Uncle Kakashi would be in a place like this." Boruto commented. As he got closer, he saw that the man was holding a small orange book which the blonde deduced as his Rated M book that he would often carry everywhere.

By the time he got closer, Kakashi had finally noticed the blonde teenager."He looks alot like Naruto." He thought to himself. The resemblance was very much uncanny with the exception a certain scar on the teen's right eye.

"May I help you sir?" Boruto asked as he finally stopped and stood in front of the masked man.

"Yes, do you know where the apartment unit number 506 is?" Kakashi asked, giving the obvious expression that he was clueless around this area.

Boruto widened his eyes in surprised. That was their apartment unit number." Yeah, It's actually where I lived." He explained.

Kakashi smiled under his mask." Then you must be Bolt-kun am I correct?" He asked.

Boruto nodded." Yes I am sir." The blonde respectfully greeted the older man.

"Well then, Nice to meet you Bolt, I am Kakashi Hatake, You can just call me Kakashi for short." The man explained as he shook hands with the blonde.

Boruto smiled." Nice to meet you Kakashi-san, What you brings you here by the way?" He asked.

"Well, as matter a fact, Lady Hokage sent me here to brief you guys about the mission." Kakashi explained much to the surprised reaction of the latter.

"Mission?" The blonde nodded. This was really an unexepected news for him. Sure there was a plan for them to be assigned on a mission but he never expected it to be this early.

There was only one way to find out.

* * *

 **(Interview)**

 **"A Mission? What could that possibly be?"**

 **-Boruto**

* * *

 **(LATER ON)**

Everyone was staring and listening careful to the man's explanation about the mission. The trio were kind of shocked that the mission that they were assigned to, was going to be a rescue mission and it was no ordinary rescue mission, it was a mission that involves saving the leader of the sand village. The Kazekage himself.

An S rank mission to be exact.

"Now hold your horses." Kakashi interrupted the mini-celebaration." So far, you three will be assigned as Observers and My team will be taking responsibiity to watch over you three." He explained, before continuing." Although, I would also clarify that the Lady Tsunade was the one who made all the papers for this." He added.

Silence took over once more. The trio knew that this was coming and the only thing that they could do was to accept the fact that they will play lowkey roles in this mission.

"So when do we start?" Himawari asked, breaking the quietness.

"As of now, The final mission briefing will be at the Hokage office by today, So I hope see you soon there." Kakashi further explained before he stood up from his seat and headed towards the door.

"Oh and by the way, The rest of the team is looking forward on meeting you, so be ready." Kakashi added as he opened the door and left the apartment.

Silence then took in charged once more.

The trio were left speechless and began on thniking about the whole news. They were expecting to be assigned on a mission in the future, but not early as of now. This was really a surprised, especially for the two girls.

"I really can't believed it, We are going to rescue the Kazekage from the Akatsuki." Sarada commented. She also knew about this event, since she heard and learned it through the stories coming from her mother.

The rescue mission was aparrently a bloody one according to her.

"We have no choice but to deal with it, Besides this is our first mission so we gotta be ready." Boruto explained, giving a slight grin." And of course, we get to see the rest of places!" He added.

As Himawari, She just kept a positive smile on her face." Well, what are you guys waiting for?" The Uzumaki asked, expressing her excitement for the mission.

The lavender haired teen then stood up from her seat and gave the two a look of motivation." Come on you two, We can do this! We are Shinobi alright!"" She exclaimed. Trying to emphasis that this was a new challenge for them to face and brushed aside any doubts and fears.

Quietness took over once more.

Boruto and Sarada just gave glances at each other and then looked at the lavender haired girl. The two of them nodded at the same time and then stood up.

"Alright, Let's go pack up the bags Dattebassa!" Boruto replied back as the blonde headed to his room to pack up whatever was necessary. Same did for his Uchiha teammate, who also proceeded to pack up.

Himawari, not alone at the table blinked a couple of times, She felt dumbfounded and can't believed on what she had just said to them. She never knew she could speak like that or she was only just unaware of it all the time. Yet, it brought her to only one question that she continued to repeat inside her head.

"Am I really that good of a motivator?"

* * *

 **(Interview)**

 **"I was like" Come on you guys! It's our time to shine!" Whether this was going to be a tough mission or not, we can do it!"**

 **-Himawari**

* * *

 **(MEANWHILE)**

Tsunade sighed. She took a deep breath to relieved the tension that was building up inside her. It was a very eventful day. Having recently received the news of the Kazekage's defeat and capture. It was a really serious problem. She also had no choice but to send a certain team to the Sand village to assess the situation.

Team Seven was the name.

It was just all silent around the main office right now. After a brief meeting with the main members, she instructed the rest to wait at the gates, while she waited for the other trio arrive at the office.

A little time has passed and the door finally opened. Three teenage individuals stepped inside with of them looking like they were ready and prepared. They were all wearing their mission attire, with Boruto in his matching black pants and a jacket which was zipped up covering the white t shirt inside. Himawari, donning a yellowish jacket with a T shirt inside and red shorts. Lastly, Sarada, who was donning a red blackish outfit.

"Granny!" Himawari was the first one to greet followed by her big brother.

"Yo Granny What's up!" Boruto grinned and gave a peace sign while The raven haired teen just smiled and waved at her.

Tsunade had a vein popped And twitched a vein in her forehead but she managed to calmed herself down. The siblings just called her "Granny" again, which was Just a wonderful thing.

"Looks like you're all ready for the mission." Tsunade, was able to gather herself up and commented." I guess Kakashi informed you well." She added.

Tsunade gave a sigh and straightened up." Alright, this mission briefing will be short so listen carefully." She explained.

The blonde Hokage then took a deep breath. "You three will be officially assigned as Observers to Team Seven which consists of Kakashi Hatake, Naruto Uzumaki and Sakura Haruno for this mission." She explained.

It was then that Sarada widened her eyes in surprised. Her mother was also going to be participating in the mission. Same too for the siblings, they were gonna meet their young dad very soon.

Tsunade then cleared her throat." As additional advice, please try to be cautious and careful." She informed them like how a mother would do, visibly showing her concern for the three.

"Yes Ma'am!" All three exclaimed in unison.

"Alright then" Tsunade said as she stood up from her chair and gave them a confident smile.

"You guys ready to meet them?

* * *

 **(Interview)**

 **"I did hesitate a bit when I signed those papers automatically assigning them into this mission. I had no choice since it was the only way I could do to protect their true identities from those old geezers."**

 **-Tsunade**

* * *

 **(MEANWHILE)**

"How long do I have to wait!"

Naruto frowned as he stood in front of the team, Jiraiya and Iruka. He was really getting impatient. His friend from the sand village was on a life and death situation and all they had to do was just stand here wait for these newcomers to come.

"Why would Baa-chan need to assigned this rookies or whatever they're called to the team right now?" Naruto wondered and complained.

He just didn't like the idea of new people on the team.

"Would you please calm down Naruto?" Sakura scolded her blonde teammate.

Naruto then gave her a look." Did Baa-chan think that this would be some kind of field trip? What was she thinking!? " The blonde argued, he was truly against this.

As for Jiraiya and Iruka, the two men could only sighed. The blonde needed to calm himself down. The two men also have little knowledge on whoever these new rookies were. Apparently, Tsunade only told them that they came from a small village and had just moved in to the village recently.

It didn't took long enough for the blonde woman to finally arrived at the scene with the three newcomers.

"Wait a minute isn't that...?" Naruto and Sakura both trailed off at the same time. They both recognized the blonde teenager and the raven haired teen, who had just arrived.

Tsunade smiled as she stood beside the three. She took a deep breath for a few moments and stood firm.

"Thank you all for waiting. As you know by now, I will be assigning three individuals to this team." She announced, as she presented the trio to the rest." I would like you to meet Bolt and Himawari Kazaki and Sarada Inoue." She introduced them thereafter.

"They'll be observers in the team and would not be interfering with the main mission. Understood?" Tsunade explained.

"Yes Ma'am!" Sakura agreed and nodded while a certain raven haired teen was secretly observing her from a distance.

"So will be like guides to them?" Naruto asked, there was still annoyance in his voice.

Tsunade simply nodded." Yes, You will guide them and teach them throughout the mission." She straightforwardly informed, much to the whining face of the blonde.

Reactions from the time travelling trio varied. Himawari was could feel the nervousness rising from inside but fought to stay calm. Sarada, on the other hand, was still observing the pink haired teen, she couldn't bring himself to interact with the girl since her mind began replaying the last memories of the time she had last seen her.

Boruto kept calm and chose to stay quiet. Right in front of him was his old man, the young version of him, who had a stubborn and impatient face as of now. Due to unknown circumstances, he couldn't approach and greet the guy properly.

Jiraiya also observed the trio, He had not seen these teens before but they all look strangely familiar. They looked as if they were more experienced than the others.

Tsunade, who had been stuck in the middle, took a deep breath and made her final announcement." Well then! I wish you all the best for this mission and may Kami guide throughout."

By the time she had made the announcement, all of them nodded in agreement." Yes Ma'am!"

It was at this time that Naruto had immediately took off from his position and headed towards the outskirts of the forest with anger and determination in his eyes. He was going to save him no matter what.

"Hey Naruto wait up!" Sakura exclaimed as she followed thereafter.

For the trio themselves, they knew that this was only the beginning for things to come. Who knows, what fate has in store for them in this mission.

They just have to be strong and believed in themselves.

* * *

 **(Interview)**

 **"All three of us were prepared for this, It's just that we don't know what could happen, we found ourselves inside an event that has already transpired in History.**

 **-Sarada**

* * *

 **(MEANWHILE)**

 **"** So how was your trip to Konoha?"

Itachi could only smile. In fact, he really enjoyed his recent occasional visit. Looking at his blue skinned friend, who was also his partner in the organization, he gave out a simple response.

"Thank you for asking Kisame-san. I really enjoyed it." Itachi simply said.

Kisame raised both eyebrows and chuckled." You sounded like you've met a family member or something?" He guessed. He was wondering on how the latter enjoyed his day at his beloved home.

Itachi sighed but smiled again." In fact I did." He replied as the raven haired man thought of the girl with the red glasses who he had met back at the compound.

What's the name then?" Kisame asked. His thoughts telling him that the Uchiha had met some random girl in the village.

"Sarada, that's her name." He simply replied.

Kisame nodded in amusement as he widened his eyes." What does she looked like then?" He asked.

Itachi kept quiet for a few moments before sighing yet again. He then gave the latter a small smile and opened his mouth to reply.

"She kind of looks like my future niece."

 **CHAPTER ENDS**

* * *

 **AN: Thank you for reading the chapter**!


	20. Arc 2: Sand

**Disclaimer:**

 **I don't own Naruto. Kishimoto Does.**

 **Author's note: Hey there Readers!, I'm back with a new chapter! I Hope you guys enjoy! I would also like to thank you guys for the Reviews. Favorites, and follows :) Thank you for also sharing your tips and thoughts for the story.**

 **I'm still recovering from sickness but I was able to find time to write the chapter.**

 **Take note: I will be busy for the coming days to come because of Exams. If I find free time then I will write the next chapter.**

 **Thank you for understanding :)**

 **Expect Grammar and Spelling mistakes**

 **P.S: I am just newbie so go easy on me**

* * *

 **Arc 2:**

 **Chapter 7: Sand Part 1**

It was an overall quiet journey for the rest of the time travelling trio. They never quite expected that no one would be setting up any conversation right away. The whole Team 7 was on serious mode especially for Naruto Uzumaki, who wouldn't even talk to anyone right now. He was not in the mood right now. He was really pissed and was concentrated on his job.

Himawari gave a worried looked at her big brother. She was wondering why their young dad was acting like that. On the other hand, The blonde just gave an assured smile at her. He explained to her that their young dad must've been affected by the capture of his friend which was the Kazekage.

As for Sarada, She remained quiet but the raven haired teen observed her young mom. She was obviously young but she had the toughness in her. She then observed the young seventh, He looked very different, very far from the matured leader that he would become in the future. She also sensed deep worry and sorrow inside of him.

"Naruto will you slow down?"Kakashi said. His student was going fast and He sensed that he blonde was getting impatient.

Sakura could only gave the latter a sad looked. She understood what her teammate was going through right now. She really wanted to help him. But right now there was nothing she can do. She will have to talk to him in private. He was really crossing the line this time.

Along the way, The group unexpectedly had bumped into Temari, the Kazekage's elder sister in the middle of their journey. She explained to the group that she was also on her way to the sand. She heard the news that, Kankuro her brother was severely injured during the conflict between him and Akatsuki. She was extremely worried for brother.

As the afternoon neared, the sun was now beginning to set. Kakashi noticed that the forest was now getting darker and He then gazed the new trio who were a bit exhausted. The main instructor of the team then stopped his tracks much to the surprised of everybody. They also reached a certain area in the forest where it was a enough for a temporary camp can be settled here.

"Why are we stopping Kakashi-sensei!?" Naruto asked. He was not expecting this. They had no time for relaxation.

Kakashi could only sighed." Naruto, It's getting dark in the forest, We should set up a temporary camp here for awhile." He explained.

Naruto gave an annoyed face." No we can't stop right now! We need to get to the sand village and rescue Gaara!" The blonde teen protested. He was going against this.

Kakashi sighed once again." Naruto is this how you show yourself to our new members?" He said. He was referring to the new rookies who were with them.

The blonde then automatically gave the rookies a frustrated looked. Why do they have to come into this mission? They're not even helpful to the situation right now.

Boruto and Himawari just kept quiet. They were children who were getting scolded by their father. They didn't want this for their young dad. Granny Tsunade was the one that assigned them here.

"Why do you guys have to come with us?" Naruto asked. He was beginning to think that because of them, the mission progressed has slowed down.

The Uzumaki siblings just kept silent and tried to understand him. They were giving him a sad looked which the latter had noticed. Himawari was taken aback by the sudden negativity of her young dad. She was excited to get to know him more but she realized that things were gonna be do easy with him.

On the other hand, Sarada was shocked that the person she looked up to as a role model was now blaming them for the struggles on this mission.

"Do you know because of you guys, you're going to ruin this mission!?" Naruto exclaimed. He was at his boiling point.

"Naruto! Stop it!" Kakashi finally had enough. He was giving the new rookies a bad example of how to be a Shinobi. This was getting out of hand.

There was silence around the area. Naruto stopped his rambling and gave the trio a frustrated looked at them before turning around to search for a spot to rest on.

* * *

 **(Interview)**

 **"Dad started blaming us along the way. Nii-chan and I were pretty much having second thoughts at the point. Was it a right decision to come along on this mission?**

 **-Himawari**

 **-For a young gun, the old man really knows how to rant. Although, we really have to understand him and what was he going through.**

* * *

Kakashi sighed. He ordered the rest to set up their sleeping bags for the night. After that, He then went to the trio to apologized.

The silver haired jounin gave them an apologetic looked." I apologized for what happened just now." Kakashi said.

"Don't mind Naruto. He is like that." Kakashi explained the simplest way for the others to understand the blonde. He has a somewhat a simple but hard to get personality.

"It's alright Kakashi-sensei, We understand." Boruto replied. He can only give a sad smile because he understood his young dad and what he was going through right now.

"Is that because his friend was the Kazekage who was a Jinchurikki just like him?" All of them turned to face the raven haired teen who somehow figured the main problem out.

Kakashi could only smile." We could say so." He replied. He was a bit impressed with this rookie. She seemed to have the common sense and knowledge.

The silver haired man himself wondered about these trio. He felt that they were going to be playing a big role in the near future. He hadn't just figured it out yet.

* * *

 **(MEANWHILE)**

"Is there really something wrong with your teammate?" Temari asked. She just was wondering about the blonde. Why would he put the blame on the three rookies? They had not done anything wrong in this mission.

Sakura could only sighed. There was only one way for her teammate calm down and that is to talk to him and bring him back to earth. She was also concerned about the three new rookies. Who would have thought these rookies from the hospital were gonna be assigned to this team. Lady Hokage told her that they were aspiring to be Shinobi in the future and she instructed her and the blonde to guide the three throughout this mission.

"So Sakura, Are you gonna go talk to him?" Temari's voice interrupted the pink haired girl's thoughts.

Sakura sighed as she stood up from her spot." Yeah, I'm gonna go talk to him for awhile." She said as she headed towards her blonde teammate.

With that said, Temari was left behind. She also observed the three new rookies and wondered about them. They somehow looked very familiar to her. She just could not put a finger on it. Although, the only way for her questions to be answered is by getting to know them personally.

* * *

 **(MEANWHILE)**

Sarada rested her head on a tree. It was really a non-stop journey which is really tiring. She was not expecting that the mission would be this so serious and quiet. She thought this would take her away from the everyday normal but stressful life.

Sensing her thoughts were leading her to nowhere. She then grabbed her bag and drew something thing from it which was revealed to be some kind of book or novel about mysteries.

"Maybe this would relax me down." Sarada commented inside her thoughts.

At the same time, a certain blonde noticed the raven haired teen surprisingly reading a book."I didn't know brought a book, Sarada-chan?" Boruto asked. He just finished setting up the wood for the bonfire later.

Sarada sighed but gave her blonde teammate a smile." Well, this keeps my mind relaxed to some extent." She simply explained. She then noticed that the lavender haired girl was conversing with their Uncle Kakashi and getting along with him.

Sarada smiled." Looks like Hima made a new friend." She commented. She pointed to a direction where the silver haired man and the girl were located.

Boruto smiled." Well, it's a good thing that Uncle Kakashi is a friendly and cool headed person." He said. Not ever in a million years he saw the man get angry. Is almost as the man didn't knew how to be angry.

"And I never knew that dad could be such a person." Boruto muttered which caught the attention of the raven haired girl. Both of them were silent. They wondered if they were ever going to get along with the other blonde.

"I know, was he always like this?" Sarada asked. She really didn't knew that the seventh was like this when he was young.

" _ **Well, actually he is**_." A female voice said. Both of the two then turned to the face Shikadai's young mother.

"Aunt Temari?" Both of the two whispered.

"Mind if I join the conversation?" Temari said. She wanted to get to know them more personally.

* * *

 **(MEANWHILE)**

"What the heck is wrong with you!?"

Sakura frowned at her blonde teammate. She was disappointed in him for acting like an immature kid in front of the three rookies. He should be really reminded that they were supposed to be the ones to guide them througout this mission.

"Come on Sakura-chan, If Granny Tsunade didn't add more people to the roster then we might as well be at the sand village already!" Naruto explained. This was an emergency mission and not just some field trip.

Sakura sighed." Did I ever tell you that Kakashi-sensei was the one who decided to settle for the night not because of them but to recharged ourselves for tomorrow." The pink haired girl explained. She had a point. The team had been travelling non stop this whole day without a rest and managed to reached the half of the journey.

Naruto's eyes widened in surprised. He then realized what she was talking about and just looked down with a guilty face. "You've got to be kidding me." He muttered under his breath.

Sakura just sighed." You know Naruto, you should go apologized to the three." She said. She was also concerned that the three rookies might have a bad impression on the blonde already.

"Who were these three rookies again? I hardly even know them." Naruto said. This was actually the first time he met them except for the blonde person, who worked at the ramen shop back in the village.

"Well then get to know them, Try setting up a conversation with them after you apologized." Sakura explained.

Naruto sighed." Alright, but canjust tell me a little more background information about them?" He asked for a small favor while his pink haired teammate just sighed yet again.

Sakura then would go on to explain on what she knew about the three. She told the blonde that they were orphans who came from a small village, which was destroyed by raiders and their families perished during the destruction of the small village. They were rescued by a passing wagon and were taken to the nearest village which was Konoha and they've been living there since.

Naruto suddenly felt saddened by the news. They were just like him and Sasuke. They lost their families and were now orphans. He wondered on how they cope after the tragedy of the past.

"When you finally cooled down, Go to talk them." Sakura said as she encouraged her blonde teammate. As for Naruto, he then took a deep breath and gave the pink haired teen a smile.

"Alright, I'll go talk to them."

* * *

 **(Interview)**

 **"I was really being such a jerk throughout and I didn't bother to realize that, I'm also ruining the team's chemistry overall.**

 **-Naruto**

* * *

 **(MEANWHILE)**

It was really a wonderful time for Temari. She was really impressed on how the three new rookies managed to lightened up her mood today. They were really fun to talk to. It was like she was talking to a happy family that she never had.

She learned about their past and how they ended up in the village. She was saddened the fact that they lost the entirety of their families to the destruction of their village.

"You know I'm really amazed on how you guys managed to cope with this." Temari said. She wanted to learn more about their resilience and perseverance.

Boruto smiled." Well, Lets say that it takes just a strong heart to survived all of this." The blonde explained as he ate his potato chips that he brought for the journey.

"Plus you gotta learn how to moved on and focus on the present and future." Sarada added as she drank her box of orange juice which she brought for the mission.

Temari was just staring wide eye at the two. It was really obvious on how they were matured for their age compared to the other knucklehead.

Temari sighed." Well, If I only had the power to travel back to the past, I can then fixed all my mistakes in one single sweep." She expressed her disappointment on what is happening.

Boruto and Sarada could only gave the latter an assured smile. They will do their best to help her rescue her brother no matter what happens. They heard that the members of the Akatsuki were very powerful and they could only hope that there will be no more other sector or group that will wreck havoc besides them.

As the afternoon finally came to an end. The full moon then took charged for the rest of the night. A bonfire was set up in the middle of the camp as the team had began eating dinner prepared by none other than the lavender haired girl herself.

"Wow, This is really good." Temari commented. This was the first time she was eating The lavender haired teen's dish and it tasted phenomenally.

"You're right Temari, This is good food." Sakura complimented the dish. It was like she was eating her mom's cooking back home. The food really had " **Love** " as its main flavor.

Himawari sighed but smiled. She felt that she was serving food for actual customers. She observed everyone one of them and they were really enjoying the food so far. Uncle Kakashi was doing his usual business of eating and then reading his orange book, both of her Aunts were conversing with her big brother and the raven haired teammate.

However, She noticed that someone was missing and it was her young dad. She then tried to look for him and finally saw him in a quiet area along the woods. The lavender haired girl then wondered. What was he doing there all alone?

Himawari sighed. There was only one way to find out.

* * *

 **(MEANWHILE)**

Naruto sighed and took a deep breath. He wanted to be alone for awhile. He had to admit that he was really nervous and did not have the courage of confronting the three rookies and apologized to them.

"Come on Naruto, You can do better than that." He muttered to himself. He tried motivating himself but it was still not enough.

" **Hello?"** A female voice then interrupted the blonde's thoughts.

Naruto was immediately startled by the unexpected female voice from behind and he then turned around to see a lavender haired girl smiling at him. He stumbled backwards and almost fell to the ground.

Himawari slightly chuckled." Sorry for startling you." She apologized.

"No worries, It was alright and..." Naruto trailed off as he immediately smelled the delicious food that the latter cooked just now.

Himawari smiled." I thought you haven't eaten yet so I brought you dinner." She explained as she offered the paper plate which contained the food. Her young dad haven't ate any food yet.

Naruto grinned from ear to ear." Thank you very much! I'm really hungry Dattebayo!" He explained as he took the lavender haired teen's daughter.

As time passed by, Himawari found herself having a conversation with young dad for the first time. She had now the chance to get to know him more this time.

"Well, I grew up as an orphan. I was told that my parents passed away when I was born." Naruto explained. He was starting to tell the latter more information about his background. He usually never told anyone of his past, but this time he felt comfortable on telling the lavender haired girl.

Himawari could only gave him a sad smile. She was actually trying to prepare herself for another crying fest as the conversation continues. However, the emotion was shuffled. It will immediately changed from sad to happy then happy to sad. This was really giving her a hard time.

The lavender haired girl would go on to learn more about her young dad's past. He was all alone for the most of his life. When he was born into this world, The faint memories of a lonely small crib in the hospital with no one except for a nurse looking after him. The third Hokage was the only one who took care of him when he grew up. He was provided with an apartment to live in to and the third will gave him the money to pay for the rent. He also never had a proper childhood, Whenever he walk along the streets of the village, He was met with mocks and insults from the villagers themselves.

As the lavender haired girl listened to her young dad's story, she was beginning to understand on why after all these years, the village itself would become a stepping stone for the latter to become the beloved seventh Hokage in the future.

"So I heard that you guys were orphans, Am I correct?" Naruto asked.

Himawari snapped out from her thoughts and turned to her young dad who was giving her a look. The lavender haired girl then gave him a sad smile.

"Oh, I'm sorry to hear that." Naruto said. So it was all true. They were really orphans.

Himawari sighed but smiled." It's alright, We finally moved on from it. She explained.

Naruto blinked a couple of times. He was wondering on how they were coping right now that their whole family was gone. The only answer that he got from her was that life is a choice, if you want to remain on putting a mask all the time just let other people now that your happy then you will be stucked on doing it for a long time. But if you chose to changed and moved on, then you will be finally set free from the burden of carrying it.

Naruto was surprised of her answer. He didn't expect that kind of answer from the lavender haired teen. "Oh, well uhmm, I just wanted to say that I'm sorry for being so hard you guys just now." The blonde explained.

"Sometimes, I wonder if I'm going to have a family of my own. Would my kids looked at me as an immature father?" Naruto said aloud. He was not really good at getting girls. He even sucked at winning his pink haired teammate's heart. It was impossible for him to have a family of his own.

"Would I be enough for them? Then if not please tell them that I'm sorry for not being a good father." Naruto unknowingly said.

There was quietness in the area. Himawari was expected to say something but instead she went closer to her young dad and suddenly hugged him. Naruto widened his eyes in surprised. He was not expecting to get hugged anytime soon.

As for Himawari, She can't handle this anymore. Deep inside she really missed her dad. All the happy memories that she had spent time with him bacl home. She let out all the tears from her eyes. Even though this was not her dad but it was still him.

Naruto, on the other hand was bewildered but he felt the emotion coming from the girl and so he returned the hug back to her. As for the lavendee haired girl, she was just sobbing and it felt so good to let it all out.

"Hey, it's gonna be alright, Don't cry." Naruto could only try to comfort the girl. But deep down inside, He felt a sensed of family whenever he is with this girl. It was strange.

Unbeknowst to the both of them, A certain Boruto Uzumaki watched the whole scene unfold. The blonde teen could only gave a smile as he witnessed his little sister being reunited with their young father.

* * *

 **(Interview)**

 **"It was good to see them bonding and establishing a connection. My little sister looks up to the old man and it's been too long since the last time she hugged him.**

 **-Boruto**

* * *

 **(LATER ON)**

As the night continued on. The mood around the camp improved. Everyone was on a relaxed mood. The hustle and serious vibe in the morning was wiped out. Boruto found himself watching his little sister bond with his young dad. His Uchiha teammate conversing more with Temari and her young mom.

"So looks like the mood change." The voice of Kakashi interrupted his thoughts. He turned around to face the man himself.

Boruto gave a smile." Looks like it Kakashi-sensei." He said. He had feeling that this night will be good for everyone as long as the vibe doesn't change.

Kakashi sighed." Well, I hope everyone gets along for a long time." He hoped. They should continue this momentum from now on. The blonde could only smile as he knew this mood would continue.

"Yeah, I know it will.""

Midnight had finally arrived. Silence had taken charged. The cold wind blew strong echoing the sound of the trees. Everyone was finally asleep except for a certain blonde who sat down watching the bonfire.

Boruto sat on the ground as he observed the fire in its glory. There were still doubts inside of him on whether they were really safe here. Kawaki was his problem, He wasn't sure whether the guy was here in this timeline. He also tried to come up with different theories of who or what else destroyed the village besides him. There was the Kara organization and The Otsutsuki, they're all possible candidates.

Although, When Boruto fought the man, He mentioned something about a someone that will eventually rule everything in this world. These only added more questions and fueled the mystery even more. The blonde suspected that there is an even more bigger picture or conspiracy and this events happening right now were just a small piece of a bigger puzzle.

The blonde sighed. If he was really here. Things would then get messy from now on. He just hope that he won't show up sooner or later. He also wondered and recalled the time when he fought the latter during the destruction of the village. He rememered that the guy wasn't the only one who attacked the village, there was more to it than meets the eye.

His Dad had already paid the price to protect the village and his family. It was now up to blonde himself to proctect ones that he loved. This mission was not joke. He will soon be meeting dangerous foes in the future. The Akatsuki was strong enough to be a dangerous foe. What else could be awaiting in the next few days.

Only time will tell when that challenge will finally arrive in front of him.

* * *

 **(Interview)**

 **"Well, It's a big world out there, who knows if it's not just the Akatsuki, maybe something else is there waiting for us."**

 **-Boruto**

* * *

 **CHAPTER ENDS**

 **AN: Thank you for reading the chapter!**


	21. Arc 2: Sand Part 2

**Disclaimer:**

 **I don't own Naruto. Kishimoto Does.**

 **Author's note: Hey there Readers!, I'm back with a new chapter! I Hope you guys enjoy! I would also like to thank you guys for the Reviews. Favorites, and follows :) Thank you for also sharing your tips and thoughts for the story.**

 **I'm still recovering from sickness but I was able to find time to write the chapter.**

 **Take note: This chapter is a bit short.**

 **Thank you for understanding :)**

 **(Beta Edited by: Terrafox2002**

* * *

 **Arc 2:**

 **Chapter 22: Sand Part 2**

Black onyx eyes observed as the large boulder opened to reveal the two other members of the Akatsuki. It was no doubt that the two were Deidara and Sasori who dragged the unconscious body of the lastest Jinchuriki, The Kazekage himself Gaara of the Sand.

The Uchiha secretly showed his disgust of the two. They treated the person with no respect even though the person was just an unconscious shell. Who could have thought these two would eventually get along. They were the perfect tandem, The blonde man specialized on forbidden explosion jutsu's while the other has the skills of a puppet master.

Itachi could only sigh. This organization has so many stranged members from different walks of life. It's only a matter of time before the tailed beast inside of the Jinchurikki will be extracted from him thus taking away another life in this world.

"Alright Fellas, our mission is finally accomplished!" The arrogant voice of Deidara could be heard all over the cave. This even made the latter annoyed. How he wished he'd never had to recruit him back then.

At the same time, the ground suddenly erupted and a giant statue with a face of a hundred eyes, and a number of giant hands which were attached on the statue emerged from the ground and a few moments later, holograms or silhouettes of the members started to appear one by one.

The extracting ritual was beginning to take shape and later on a meeting was going to be held. The Uchiha could only hope that his beloved village would send a team right now.

* * *

 **(MEANWHILE)**

"But Lady Chiyo! You're the only one who can extract the poison from Kankuro!"

Baki pleaded with the elder woman. He was very desperate to save the young man, who was the Kazekage's older brother. Apparently, the brown-haired young man had attempted to save his brother but failed as the Akatsuki were just too much for him to handle.

A tall man with two distinctive, red markings on his face. He was a man of good principle. He was very loyal to the sand village and would do everything that he can just to save the young man's life. He was the only survivor as the rest of the team that was sent to rescue the Kazekage were wiped out.

Lady Chiyo was the only one who had the ability to heal the young man. In fact, he thought that she was the only one who had more medical knowledge than the medics here in the village. He hoped that she could help extract the lethal poison out of the young man's body.

"I told you Baki, I don't have any more business with the village's affairs." Chiyo stood by her word. She refused to attend the latter's wounds. Her companion, Ebizo just stood there and watched the whole scene unfold.

Baki could only show his disappointment. Although, he still never gave up despite the criticism of the two towards himself. It was true that he was not a very efficient leader as the Kazekage but he will do whatever he can to help.

"The young man is reckless, he should have never faced the enemy all by himself," Ebizo commented, he was the younger brother of the elder woman herself. He expressed the reckless attitude of the younger generation nowadays.

Chiyo gave a looked towards the man." That's why the Sand village will never prosper. Their system is too dependent on foreign entities. She expressed her disappointment towards the lack of experience of the Shinobi in this village. Even the Medic-nin were not enough to fully take care of the young man.

"With due respect, Lady Chiyo, but your grandson was the one responsible for this." Baki finally told the truth.

Chiyo, who had decided to stay away from the scene, suddenly stopped her tracks. She widened her eyes and turned back around to looked at the man who was in charge of handling the current situation.

"Sasori." She muttered. She was really surprised when the man mentioned her grandson. All the memories came back to her.

"Please Lady Chiyo."

The elder woman just sighed. She really had no choice. Instead of walking out, she decided to change her mind and walked back to the injured young man's aid. She had really no choice right now.

"Alright, I will do whatever I can to help."

* * *

 **(Interview)**

 **"I usually don't lend a hand to assist on situations such as this nowadays, but if it concerns my grandson, then I am already a part of that situation."**

 **-Chiyo**

* * *

 **(MEANWHILE)**

The journey to the sand was nearing completion. After going through the forest, the group had finally reached the vast desert and along with a small road acting as a guide that will lead them to their destination, the group was on the right track.

The group resumed their journey by early dawn which the sun was just beginning to set. This was in order to catch up on the deadline and maybe arrived earlier than expected just to reach the injured Kankuro and finally treat him.

As for the time travelling trio, they just prepared themselves from what's to come. Since they were in the desert, a large sandstorm was expected to pass by them and they really have to hurry if they don't want to caught up in that sandstorm.

Boruto gazed at the sunrise which was rising above the sandstorm that was fast approaching. He then turned to his little sister and Uchiha teammate and observed them. He hoped that they were alright and not tired by the recent journey.

As time passed by, the group finally caught a glimpse of the sand village from a few distances away. They were finally close to their destination when they found out that the sandstorm was just on their doorstep.

"You've got to kidding me!" Boruto exclaimed in his mind. He then darted his eyes towards the rest who were finally running on full speed.

He glanced back at the view where the sun once was and saw in horror that the sandstorm had blocked the sunlight and was now coming towards them like a giant tidal more than 5 minutes that sandstorm finally was just on their doorstep.

Although, luck with being on their side as there was a small cave nearby. Kakashi widened his eyes, the small cave could now be a perfect spot to wait for the sandstorm to pass.

"Everybody! Into that small cave right now!" Kakashi instructed the rest to follow him to the cave.

* * *

 **(Interview)**

 **"The Sandstorm was really a hindrance to the mission. It definitely cost us an amount of time and we were forced to wait it all out."**

 **-Kakashi**

* * *

By the time they've arrived at the cave, the sandstorm had finally engulfed the outside world and the team decided to stay in the cave until the sandstorm passed by.

It was all nothing but silence, as they waited and waited for it passed. Naruto, whose now getting impatient once again, tried to go out from the cave by himself but was stopped by Sensei.

"Dammit! We have no time Kakashi-sensei!" Naruto protested. He was really nearing his boiling point again.

"Calm down, Naruto We really don't have a choice but to wait for the storm to pass," Kakashi explained.

Sakura sighed but frowned." Will you just relax Naruto and be patient?" The pink haired girl scolded the blonde.

"I think Temari is more worried than you," Sakura added as she beckoned the blonde to turned his eyes to the blonde haired woman.

Temari sat down in silence, her thoughts were running deep and she was so used to seeing sandstorms that she was not panicking at all. She then took a deep breath.

"There is an important rule here in our place, whenever there is a sandstorm, it also means death for anyone who comes across it outside," Temari explained. She also told the others that many people disappeared and went missing because of the sandstorm.

Naruto had no choice but to force himself to calm down. There was really no choice for now but to sit down and wait.

Meanwhile, the time travelling trio just kept quiet but they were listening to the conversation the whole time.

"Temari-san, how long will the sandstorm passed by the way?" Boruto asked which caught the attention of everybody.

Temari simply smiled." Since this sandstorm is quite weak, Maybe around 5 to 10 minutes." She explained. Didn't she inform everybody that she was used to the climate here?

"Well, that's great! At least we don't have to wait much longer!" Naruto exclaimed. He was really getting desperate and impatient.

Himawari and Sarada just observed their the blonde. They both really were not used to seeing a young hyperactive Dad and Seventh Hokage. Although, they both understood him now.

Five minutes had already passed and after a little waiting, the sandstorm had passed. The group was finally allowed to go out and continue their journey to the sand village which just a few miles away.

By the time, the group reached their final destination, they were immediately met by the guards at the main gates. It turns out that they were already had been expected to arrive at the infirmary, where the Kazekage's brother was located.

* * *

 **(UNEXPECTED ARRIVAL)**

It was a dark day for the village of the sand. Their beloved leader, the Kazekage himself was captured and possibly on the lines of death right now. The whole place was considered mourning and there was the silence that echoed through the whole village.

Lady Chiyo was not one of those mourners. In fact, she refused to mourn with the villagers. She was, even more, disappointed with the fact that how the people here quickly lose hope that their young leader is now gone. This is one of the reasons why she had lost hope with this village.

The elder puppeteer stared outside one of the windows of the Kazekage building. The sandstorm had receded and the sun was back in its glory. Just a while ago, she had failed to fully heal the young man. It was impossible and beyond her expertise to extract the poison from the younger's body.

She could see the disappointment of everybody when she didn't manage to do her job. She could only temporarily relieve the pain from him. She also explained that only the fifth Hokage could heal and extract the poison fully from the young man. She doubted that the leaf village would send someone good of a medic as the great slug princess.

"Will there be hope?" She wondered. She already lost her grandson from the evil of the world and now had come back to put everyone in the village in disarray. Who will solve this current conflict happening right now?

By the time she got back at the infirmary where the young Kankuro was confined, She was then greeted by the silent faces of the staff and Baki. She almost looked away from them as she didn't want to see their faces of anguish.

Although, at the same time, sounds of many footsteps can be heard heading towards the infirmary. By the time the footsteps reached the room, a group of people from the leaf village suddenly showed and entered the room by themselves.

"A team from the leaf village?" Chiyo wondered and asked. She was surprised and all her doubts were instantly washed away but except that Tsunade wasn't on the team.

 **"Sorry, we're late**!" Sakura apologized as she headed towards the injured young man immediately as possible.

"Kankuro!" Temari exclaimed her brother's name. She was extremely worried and was trying not to breakdown in tears. She did all that she could just to comfort her big brother from the pain.

On the other hand, Chiyo was caught by the surprised and was followed by shocked when she saw a white-haired man with a mask from a terrible memory of past.

The elder woman widened her eyes and raged started to fuel her mind. She knew that white-haired man personally." White Fang of the leaf!" She exclaimed as she stepped off from her former position in an attempt to charge at the man but was stopped by her brother, Ebiso.

Kakashi who just entered the infirmary was suddenly caught by the surprised and was just about to position into his defensive stance. Even his blonde student summoned a shadow clone just to protect him from any surprise attacks.

"Take a closer look elder sister," Ebiso said. He would go on to explain that the man was not the white fang himself but different person.

Chiyo immediately realized and had let her guard down. She was just really caught up in the moment right now." My apologies, young man." She said.

Kakashi could only smile." It's alright Ma'am." He said as went to the latter and greeted her with respect.

"Sorry about that, I must be getting old," Chiyo explained. She also gave a chuckle to show him that she was making amends with the white-haired man.

"What's your name, young man?" Ebiso asked.

The white-haired man then smiled." Kakashi Hatake, Sir." Kakashi formally introduced his name to the old man He would go on to explain that he was not the White Fang of the village. That person died a very long time ago and that was his father.

* * *

 **(Interview)**

 **" My father really had commited a lot of atrocities during those times. I really felt sorry and saddened for the families of the Shinobi that he had killed, including the family of Lady Chiyo."**

 **-Kakashi**

 **"I'm glad he didn't grew up to be like his father and continued his legacy."**

 **-Chiyo**

* * *

 **(MEANWHILE)**

From behind the scenes, Boruto, Hinawari and Sarada were witnessing this silently. By the time things finally settled down, the three found themselves sitting on the corner and watching the scene unfold.

"Would you think Uncle Kankuro will be alright?" Boruto whispered to his raven-haired teammate.

Sarada could only sigh." I really don't know Boruto, but I hope with Mama here, he would be healed in no time." She explained. She had high trust for her young mom.

"Don't worry guys, I'm sure everything will be alright," Himawari said. She just stayed positive throughout this whole time.

As for Sarada, this was something important for her personally. She was going to witness her young mother, who was going to be the one who is handling the emergency treatment of the injured young man. She personally heard stories from her mother's closest friends that they told her that she was the best medic nin that ever was since the Fifth Hokage.

However, by fate or by coincidence, She was suddenly called up by the pink haired girl herself which she did not expect.

"Sarada." The raven-haired girl heard the voice of her young mom as she looked up to see everybody looking at her.

The raven-haired girl then glanced from both sides of her direction. A few moments later she finally realized that she was the one that the latter called.

"Me?" Sarada was a bit dumbfounded. She then immediately stood up and headed to where the pink haired girl was located.

"Uhmm, Do you need something Sakura?" The raven-haired girl asked. She was unsure of what was going to happen next.

* * *

 **(Interview)**

 **"I was quite surprised when my teenage Mama called me up to assist her. I didn't know what to say at that moment other than just do whatever is right and I'm glad that as observers, I could finally contribute my skills.**

 **-Sarada**

 **"I think is quite common for her to be called upon in situations like this. I guess she's just too good of you know what I mean"(Chuckles)**

 **-Boruto**

* * *

Sakura nodded." Yes, since you're here as an observer, I might as well teach you some stuff." The pink haired girl then explained that it was also her job to teach the rookies and this was her chance to teach the basics of being a medic nin and at least maybe passed her some knowledge.

Sarada was surprised. She had never expected this kind of thing. But she was here now and the only thing that she can do is to help.

"So are you with me?" Sakura asked. She felt that this girl will have the potential of becoming a great medic nin in the future.

Sarada blinked a couple of times, before snapping back into seriousness. She then took a pair of gloves from the metallic tray which contained the medical equipment. She was determined to prove that she was going to be a great medical expert just like her mom was.

She then gave a glanced at her blonde teammate, who gave her a smile of encouragement.

As for Boruto, He just smiled confidently as he knew that his raven-haired teammate was a great medic nin. In fact, she was a medic nin back home. One of the best on the team.

Sarada took a deep breath as she finally donned the gloves. She also pulled her hair into a ponytail as a sign that she was prepared for this thing.

"Alright! Let's do this then!"

* * *

 **CHAPTER ENDS**

 **AN: Thank you for reading the chapter :)**


	22. Arc 2: Getting the Job Done

**Disclaimer:**

 **I don't own Naruto. Kishimoto Does.**

 **Author's note: Hey there Readers!, I'm back with a new chapter! I Hope you guys enjoy! I would also like to thank you guys for the Reviews. Favorites, and follows :) Thank you for also sharing your tips and thoughts for the story.**

 **I'm still recovering from sickness but I was able to find time to write the chapter.**

 **Take note: This chapter is a bit short.**

 **Thank you for understanding :)**

 **(Beta Edited by Tefafox2002)**

* * *

 **Arc 2:**

 **Chapter 9: Getting the Job Done**

Silence had took over the room. Everyone's eyes was on the two kunoichi who was treating the injured brother of the Kazekage. It was like they were all witnesses to some operating session.

Sakura was pretty impressed on how the raven haired girl was handling the situation. It was as if she had the abilities of a medic nin. She quietly observed how the latter performed the basic steps of an emergency operation and described it as being gracefully executed.

As for their audience, it was clearly the same reaction throughout. Their reactions were either of awe or amazement. Kakashi wondered about this raven haired rookie, based on the reports that he got from the Lady Hokage herself, she had basically no knowledge on how to be a medic nin and yet here she was performing flawlessly like she was no beginner. Naruto, on the other hand just watched in amazement, he was witnessing the powers of a medic nin in front of his eyes.

Boruto and Himawari just simply watched the whole scene unfold. They were not even surprised about their raven haired girl's abilities. In fact, she was really medic-nin back home and was also considered one of the best there is at the time, a lot of young ninja looked up to her.

Sarada could only sigh. She didn't want to show off. She was just eager to learn more and very much wanted to contribute whatever she can to help. By the time they were going to extract the poison out from the young man's body, her teenage mother instructed the staff to hold him as this was gonna be really painful.

Temari stayed by her brother's side to comfort him. Sarada, having noticed this, secretly activated her sharingan and called the injured young man to looked into her eyes. When Kankuro did looked into her eyes, he suddenly felt relaxed and his consciousness started to fade away.

* * *

 **(Interview)**

 **"He was really in pain and He was on the verge of getting hysterical. So I did what was logical and necessary just to calm him down. This procedure, from what I know can eat up a lot of anyone's time."**

 **-Sarada**

* * *

Sakura, holding the huge bubble on her hand then inserted it through the young man's chest. Surprisingly, it did not made the man hysterical as usually people would be screaming in pain during this procedure.

"There there now." Sarada comforted Temari and Kankuro. She felt that with her help, the procedure will end on a peaceful note.

By the time the poison, which was now in inside the bubble-like container which was being extracted from his body, Kankuro began to spring back to consciousness as he was breathing heavily in and out.

"What happened?" Kankuro asked, as he wasn't aware of what really happened just now. It was as if he was hypnotized by someone.

"You're alright now Kankuro, the poison is out from your body. You are safe now." Sakura explained as she pulled her back to its usual common form.

Temari took a deep breath and sighed in relief has the tension in her body vanished. She didn't have to worry anymore." Thank you for saving Kankuro." She said.

"Although Temari-san, your brother is going to need to drink a dose of the antidote." Sarada explained. She would go on to tell that there are still toxins left inside his body and a dose of that antidote is needed to fully wipe out the toxins.

Sakura was about to say the exact same thing but the latter had already beaten her to it. She observed the raven haired girl, who finally removed her gloves and pulled back her ponytail. Curiosity had finally got the best of her. Who was this girl exactly? Is she even a rookie?

As for Sarada, All the work was finished so far. By the time she got back and reunited with the Uzumaki siblings, He was then met by the silent and serious looked of her blonde teammate.

"Hey something the matter?" Sarada asked. She was visibly concerned right now while Boruto could only sighed back. This was really something important to be discussed with.

"Sarada-chan can we talk in private?"

* * *

 **(MEANWHILE)**

As the day finally continued, a large part of the mission was accomplished. The team managed to arrived in time and had somehow saved the Kazekage's brother before he succumbed into the poison that was inflicted to by none of other than Sasori of the Sand.

The white haired man, who was thinking about what had happened earlier on today, sighed. He found himself a quiet area to rest for awhile, as it was quite an eventful day for him. First, he had managed his student's temper of bursting his frustrations towards the rookies, second, he had guided them throughout the journey and all that it entailed and lastly, he was mistaken for his father.

The ordeals had really tired him out by this point, but of course it was his duty to help the Sand Village and he would never give up. His thoughts then went back to the three rookies, and in particular, the raven haired girl, who was assisting his only female student. He didn't know what he saw a while ago but when he looked into her eyes, he thought that she saw red eyes with three tomoes, which was none other than the Sharingan.

* * *

 **(Interview)**

 **"I'm not really sure on what was I seeing back there, but I guess maybe because of exhaustion and the stress that I was currently experiencing awhile back."**

 **-Kakashi**

* * *

The white haired jounin, rubbed a hand over his face and sighed yet again. What had gotten to the Lady Hokage? Just where did she get these new rookies? There was really something about them and he had to find out, or maybe he was just tired and going crazy at the same time? Maybe he really should stop reading his orange books.

"Kakashi-sensei?" The voice of Naruto then interrupted his thoughts, he thought that no one would be able to find him here but he was wrong. He looked up to the blonde himself, staring at him.

"Yes, what is it?" Kakashi asked.

"I think you're being called inside, They wanted to talked to you for awhile."

* * *

 **(LATER ON)**

The sound of hot tea could be heard being poured into a cup. The Sarada and Boruto found themselves inside the building's small canteen area. Sarada was a bit bewildered and confused that the blonde wanted privately talk to her and for what actually? Is there something wrong that she did just now?

"Sarada-chan." The raven haired girl's thoughts were then interrupted by the blonde himself as she looked up to see her teammate carrying the tray of snacks, which consists of some sandwiches and hot drinks such as the tea and a hot chocolate milk.

"Oh thank you Boruto." Sarada thanked her blonde teammate, who finally sat down in front of her.

There was a bit of silence that took over their area. They quietly enjoyed their food before the blonde finally spoke up.

"Uhmm, there is something that I wanted to ask." Boruto said as he munched his sandwich.

"Yes, what is it?" Sarada asked. She was a bit confused right now.

"Did you used your Sharingan awhile ago?" Boruto asked. The blonde saw the whole thing, but he just wanted clarification from the girl.

Sarada just kept quiet for a few moments before finally opening her mouth." Yes I did." She simply said. She then would go on to explain that the reason for activating her sharingan was to make the young man relaxed and to not feel the pain from the extraction of the poison.

Boruto nodded in understanding." I understand your intentions but I had noticed that Uncle Kakashi was observing you the whole time." The blonde explained.

Sarada widened her eyes in shocked and surprised. She did not expected that. She was actually unaware of everyone watching her during the procedure. The raven haired girl almost choked in her sandwich, panic began to take over her but she managed to calm herself down.

"Oh no Boruto then that means..." Sarada, with a shocked expression, trailed off. She was just loss for words right now.

"Calm down Sarada-chan." Boruto said. He would go on to explained that he also did his part by conversing with the white haired man to distract him from the procedure just now.

* * *

 **(Interview)**

 **"Well, I basically did my part back there, whatever things that I could contribute and It was a relief for us that it succeeded."**

 **-Boruto**

* * *

The raven haired girl just sighed in relief. She thought the secret was out but thanks to her blonde teammate, It was all in one piece.

As the conversation continued. Both of the teens then discussed if whether they will play a big role in this mission. Since, the Kazekage's brother had been saved, the next step was to locate the exact the location of where their Uncle Gaara is being held.

"You know, I think this observing thing is getting out of hand." Boruto commented. He was really doubting the position that Granny Tsunade assigned them. They were not really observers, they were shinobi now.

"You got a point." Sarada agreed. It's only a matter of time before they're gonna find themselves at the front rows of the mission.

Plus who knows besides the Akatsuki are out there. It was a big world out there. The only thing they can do is expect the unexpected. At one point they're gonna have to engaged the enemy in a fight.

 **"Hey guys**!"

The voice of Himawari then interrupted their conversation. The two looked at the lavender haired girl who was taking a deep breaths from exhaustion.

"Is something the matter Hima-chan?" Boruto asked.

As Himawari finally caught her breath, she stood up straight as she beared some interesting news for the two.

"Uncle Kakashi sent me here, he wants to brief everybody regarding the mission." The Uzumaki girl explained while the two older teens took glances at each other then turned their eyes towards the lavender haired girl and both raised their eyebrows at her.

Himawari on the other hand was puzzled. Why were the two giving her weird looks like that?

* * *

 **(HEADACHES)**

Sakura sighed as she took a deep breath. The procedure has now been completely finished. The antidote was finally made and Kankuro was now considered clean from any poison in his body. The pink haired girl sat down on of the chairs in the infirmary. It was really a tiring procedure to be honest, but with the help of the raven haired girl from a little while ago, the process had been sped up and the procedure ended on a peaceful note.

Millions of thoughts were running through Sakura's head. She was wondering about the raven haired girl again. She had to admit that she really had the skills of a medic-nin, but how did she managed to learn all of this? She came from a small village that have no shinobi or medical experts. So the question was, who taught her the skills?

Around this time, the pink haired girl felt a headache coming on. She held her forehead in slight pain, but she really couldn't explain this right now. Suddenly her world, began to spin around her, but after a few moments it stopped. Although, it wasn't over yet as images of a certain place started to flash before her eyes. It was the Leaf Village, but the place was very different to what it was now, plus the fact that it was destroyed. An image of a certain person also flashed before her eyes, it was a person she quickly recognized, the person being none other than Sasuke Uchiha himself, but he was older than he appeared to be right now.

"Sasuke?" Sakura muttered as the memories began to fade away. One of the last things that she saw, was herself, but much older. She was fighting enemies that she didn't know and was protecting a person that looked really familiar.

Moments later, the memories abruptly ended. Her headache finally stopped and she was back into reality.

"Hey you sure are pretty stressed Sakura-chan." The familiar voice of Naruto interrupted the silence as well as her thoughts, as the blonde teen arrived at the scene.

The pink haired girl, then looked up and saw the blonde haired teen giving her a confused and worried looked.

Naruto was also worried about her. He just went up to check up on his older teammate and childhood crush, but all he saw was the latter holding her forehead in pain.

"Are you alright?" Naruto, with a concerned voice asked.

The pink haired girl just gave a slightly strained smile. "Yeah, I'm fine Naruto, I'm just tired from the journey, the fighting and healing Kankuro, that's all." Sakura explained and assured the blonde, not telling him of what she thought she saw from before..

"Well, if you need something, just call me okay?" Naruto then said as he headed back to where sand siblings are.

As for Sakura herself, this was the first time that she had this kind of headache, and she had no explanation for it. But she just deduced that this was some kind of lucid dream or something similar.

Sakura sighed and massaged her temples yet again. The pink haired girl could only hope that she wasn't going crazy.

* * *

 **(Interview)**

 **"And I thought the headaches were permanently gone, Now it's back and is being its usual pain in butt.**

 **-Sakura**

* * *

 **(OFFICIAL MEMBERS?)**

The meeting was then held back in a different location, which was an empty infirmary, probably from the Second or Third Great Shinobi wars, or something similar. Those who were present, were the time travelling trio and Kakashi himself. This seemed as if it was going to be a closed door, rather private meeting.

Boruto and Sarada were just even more confused. They were probably thinking the man had already figured it out, and they could only just have to prepare themselves if they were going to tell the truth.

On the other hand, Himawari was giving them weird but worried looks. Why were the two looked so worried and what was to worry about? This was just a mission briefing, they surely were safe?

Kakashi could only sighed in response." Alright guys There is nothing to worry about , I just needed to speak with you three regarding the mission." He explained.

Both of the Uchiha and the older time traveling Uzumaki's eyes widened. They thought at first that they'd been finally exposed, but it turned out, they were not. Their thoughts quickly turned to the mission briefing, but not after a suspicious glare from Kakashi, as well as a worried look from Himawari.

"First I will have to apologize for this but you three will not be observers anymore." Kakashi added which gave surprised reactions from the trio, as they were not expecting this.

"So that means, we're going to be doing this mission as official members now?" Himawari asked. This breaking news had really made her excited.

Kakashi simply nodded. "Yes, and later there will be a brief meeting regarding the search for the captured Kazekage." He added.

Himawari was just really jumping in excitement right now. She really wanted this opportunity to proved herself and she knew that this was gonna be her time to shine.

As for Boruto and Sarada, they were just glancing at each other and wondering of what could possibly go right and wrong this time. It was like a sudden promotion that they were not expecting. They turned eyes to the main instructor of Team 7, who gave them a smile.

"Well, wish you guys the best for this mission." Kakashi said. He then stood up from a chair and headed for the door.

By the time he reached the door, He suddenly stopped his tracks and then turned around to face the trio again." Oh and by the way, The Leaf Village has sent another team to assist in this mission." He informed the trio before fully going outside.

There was silence in the room. The trio wondered on whose team was sent to assist them. It was just full of unexpected surprises today. Has difficulty of this mission increased? Maybe that's why another team was sent. Who knows?

On the other note, Himawari could only anticipate and wondered about that team that will be sent. She then asked herself, "Can this team can handle the challenge of this mission?"

* * *

 **(Interview)**

 **"When Kakashi-sensei told us about playing a bigger role in the mission, We were definitely glad and I myself was very excited! Not because of being in the moment but because of giving our best to help what we can."**

 **-Himawari**

* * *

 **REINFORCEMENTS**

 **(Somewhere in the vast forest)**

To all the things that Neji had been through. This was going to be the toughest challenge of his life yet. The first was easy, Lady Hokage assigned him and the team on this mission to assist Team 7. Second, as soon as his little cousin found out about it, there's nothing that he can do now, and lastly, his little cousin had apparently joined in the mission at the approval of Lady Hokage herself which he found strange and impossible.

"Hey big cousin, why are you silent for?" Hanabi asked. She was getting really annoyed that her cousin wasn't answering her questions.

Neji, on the other hand just kept silent. He really didn't want to argue with the younger Hyuuga. In fact, he had gave up, there was really no chance of winning an argument with her. You either get trashed talk or just lived to see yourself become a verbal punching bag.

"I really don't wanna talk about this Hanabi." Neji replied. These were the only words that came from his mouth before he completely shut his mouth up.

"You know, if this is about concerning me, then you don't have to worry because I'm going kicked those Akatsuki butts outta of this world." Hanabi said. She was just really pumped up to join in this mission and to also watch over her big cousin, just in case if he did anything stupid that would have risked his life.

Neji could only sigh back to his cousin. His best choice was just to go with flow. He turned his eyes to the rest of the team, as he had heard snickering coming from them, and his thoughts and suspicions were confirmed about those who were snickering at him or chuckling at him, especially about his predicament. The brown haired Hyuuga secretly whined about this.

"Why does she have to babysit me?"

* * *

 **(Interview)**

 **"As expected, here comes my courageous cousin to the rescue.(Sighs)**

 **-Neji**

 **"Well, as you all know, my job is simply to make sure that my cousin doesn't get himself in trouble."**

 **Hanabi**

* * *

 **CHAPTER ENDS.**

 **AN: Thank you for reading the chapter**.


	23. Arc 2: The Search Part 1

**Disclaimer:**

 **I don't own Naruto. Kishimoto Does.**

 **Author's note: Hey there Readers!, I'm back with a new chapter! I Hope you guys enjoy! I would also like to thank you guys for the Reviews. Favorites, and follows :) Thank you for also sharing your tips and thoughts for the story.**

 **Take note: I will be going with the Canon storyline with a few twist and a different perspective.**

 **Thank you for understanding :)**

 **(BETA EDITED BY TEFAFOX2002)**

* * *

 **Arc 2**

 **Chapter 10: The Search Begins**

The streams in the forest can be considered a place where you can calm your mind, as well as any thoughts or ideas that are running through your mind. By just hearing the sounds of the streams, it will take you to a place where there is no chaos, fights, just serenity and peace. Maybe that's why for one Itachi Uchiha, he came here all by himself and observed the following streams as he walked through the ever darkening forest.

It can now be considered to say that everything was over. The extraction was complete and another Jinchurikki can be now crossed on the list. He really had no choice but to just watched the whole thing unfold. The Akatsuki's goal was very simple, which was to acquire all the tailed beast's and once they achieved the main goal, world peace could now be achieved according to the main benefactor of the organization.

Itachi had seen enough craziness in his recent lifetime, but this one was the craziest of them all so far. Even the rest of the members can be now considered crazy but they have different goals altogether and he can't be that judgemental.

It was really quiet in this area. He could only hear the sound of the rustling of trees because of the strong wind. It was a peaceful, but empty atmosphere. He considered this being the closest to being alone. Itachi wondered the possibility of what if his family was still alive today and none of this ever happened. Would he be a sensei of a genin team or a captain of an ANBU team? Or would he still be sweeping the dust at the gates of the compound?

Itachi could only smile. He remembered the good old days when everything was still the way he wanted. Especially, a certain girl that he would considered the love of his life, Izumi. How he recalled the times where they would really spend time together and along with a infant Sasuke who would always cry whenever he is around the girl.

A small tear fell from the Uchiha's eyes. He really wanted to see her again. But that would be impossible right at this moment. He doesn't have the power to bring the dead back to life. From that moment on, he realized that he was all alone and there was no turning back. He could almost blamed himself for the massacre but he then suddenly remembered the words from a certain raven haired girl back in the leaf village.

Itachi wondered about this girl, It really feels like he had met her before, even though he didn't.

When she laid his eyes on her, She reminded him of his little brother but he really doesn't know the reason why. Although, he suddenly felt very overprotective of her as if she was a member of the family. He coincidently commented about her being his niece in the future but somehow it was all coming together. He began to realized the girl will play an important role in the future. He just can't figured it out yet.

As time passed by, Itachi a thought came to the latter that maybe he should really quit the organization and start a new life with a new identity. He was really sick and tired of seeing chaos and death, but he had no choice but to stick around for awhile, even though there is lot of people that cannot be trusted within and outside the group. Sometimes he would feel that he was being watched by someone and when he turned around there was no one there.

He knew that only Zetsu would do such a thing but he knew that can easily tracked him down but that was a long time ago and recently he felt that this was much different.

He wasn't sure who or what kind of thing was watching him or maybe monitoring his moves. He feared that his secret was discovered but it was too early to assumed. He tried to remember the exact details when he had the opportunity to catch a glimpse of this person watching him from behind the scenes.

The area around him was eerily quiet and it was starting to get really suspicious as his paranoia crept up on him. Itachi suddenly felt a presence somewhere around his area, he then described the presence as a not malevolent or benevolent thing but somewhat neutral. Then a thought came into Itachi, this was his chance to see who that person was by using his sharingan.

As he was about to make his move, a mysterious female voice then suddenly interrupted the eerie silence and he instantly felt a chill run down through his body. The source of the voice was behind him.

 **"Do you really want to see her again** **?** " The mysterious voice said.

Itachi widened his eyes in shocked as he then immediately drew his Kunai, he then turned around to face a certain blue skinned man and it was none other than his partner, Kisame.

"Kisame!?" Itachi exclaimed. He didn't expect the latter would be here and the female voice definitely did not belong to him.

Kisame widened his eyes shocked. He was just going to asked his partner whether they will proceed with the mission and now he found himself being almost struck in the throat by his friend. "Hey, it's me Itachi! What the heck has gotten into you!?" He asked.

Itachi, realizing that it was only his partner, released the kunai from his throat. He thought that he was really the one that was following him around. "I apologized Kisame-san." He apologized to his partner.

Kisame then gave him a weird look. "Itachi, if this about not visiting your village then you can go there and have tea as many times as you want." He said as if his life depended on it. Seriously, what has gotten to him lately?

On the other hand, Itachi just sighed. "So what's the mission details again?" He asked. He seemed to forgot all about it because of him hanging around with too many thoughts.

Kisame sighed. This was the third time that he was gonna explained the mission details to him yet again. He wondered if there was really something bothering his friend. He really did look gloomy, probably even more than normal recently or maybe it was just his imagination?

As for Itachi himself, he darted his eyes around the surroundings behind his friend, and then suddenly caught a glimpse of a human figure that quickly disappeared in just a blink of an eye.

Just who was that person?

* * *

 **(Interview)**

 **"These strange voices had been bothering me recently. It seemed that they are telling me something and I can't even detect them.**

 **Itachi**

* * *

 **(BABYSITTING IN A MISSION)**

It was really a great time for a certain Hanabi Hyuuga. This mission that she intentionally joined was very much worth it show off her skills but the main reason that she joined was to look after her big cousin, who was also the member of the famous Team 8. She had to admit that it was not an easy task of joining this mission.

She had to really get the approval of the Lady Hokage herself. In fact when it comes to the Fifth Hokage, they already knew the secret regarding the trio who came from the future and she explained to her that she needed to join this mission because a certain lavender-haired girl inspired her to be closer to her family and of course looked after her big cousin, who could potentially do something idiotic.

Now, the Hyuuga girl found herself with the rest of the guys in this mission and this was actually her first major mission as a Shinobi herself. Who would've thought that they were gonna rescue the Kazekage and kick some Akatsuki butt.

The only problem right now is his big cousin who obviously seemed to be bothered and annoyed that she was here in this mission. She then found herself in a peaceful area in the forest and was staring at the latter, who was just sitting by a tree and appeared to be in deep thought.

Apparently, they were only ones in the area while, the rest of the team were busy talking to the village's scout which was a talking cute pug known as "Pakkun."

Hanabi gave the latter a frown and a sighed. "Hey, big cousin if I were you, I would be listening to mission details with the rest of the team." She explained. She was just trying to motivate her big cousin to be more attentive in this mission.

On the other hand, Neji was just silent. He just really just didn't want to talk to his little cousin right now. In truth, he was really disappointed with himself that he didn't manage to convince her to stay in the village because it was safe there.

On the other hand, Hanabi was getting annoyed. She was talking to the air and not to her big cousin. It reached to a point where she really had to do something to bring her big cousin back to reality. There was silence in the area so she really was responsible for breaking the silence by smacking her big cousin on the head thus bringing him back to earth.

"Hey what was that for?" Neji asked. He was automatically brought back to reality as he rubbed his head to make the pain go away.

Hanabi gave a stern looked." That's for bringing you back to your senses." She explained as she put her hands on her hips.

* * *

 **(Interview)**

 **"Whenever Neji is feeling down or depressed, I always give him a proper smack on the head or else he'll won't talk to anyone.**

 **-Hanabi**

* * *

"Now tell me, what seems to be problem?" Hanabi asked. She just wanted some real answers from her big cousin.

"Alright, you wanna know the answer?" Neji said. He then stood up from the grassy ground.

"The truth is that I'm disappointed with myself that I'm not that enough to protect you and Hinata. You should've stayed in the village" He blurted out the real reason why he was like that.

Hanabi gave him a surprised look. She did not really expect that he would answer her like that. She was shocked that her big cousin did not have faith in himself.

"I'm just afraid that I might fail to protect you since this is the first time you are in the mission with me," Neji added. He would go on to explain that he was really doubting himself and his ability to protect his little cousin in this mission. He was just afraid that something might happen to her.

Hanabi could only sigh. She was really at a loss for words right now. The only thing that she can do was to just engulf her big cousin in a warm embrace.

Neji was surprised about the sudden hug by the latter. Why would she have hugged him in the first place? All he did was complain and doubt himself up.

As for Hanabi, she just kept the hug for a little while." Neji please listen to me, You don't have to doubt yourself." She explained while the latter was a bit surprised of her answer.

"No matter what you do or whatsoever, I'm still proud of you and I'm very grateful that you are here to protect me and big sis." Hanabi added. She would go on to explained that, self-doubting can only lead you to your doomed. Instead, why not just moved on and proved yourself that you are a worth.

"Because I believed in you, and don't ever forget that." Hanabi said. She was sure that this was enough for the latter to realized that he was not useless.

With her cousin's motivational support, Neji felt like he was born again. He then made a promise to himself that starting from now he will not doubt himself anymore and will strive to protect his family and especially Hanabi in this mission.

* * *

 **(Interview)**

 **"Hanabi is really at best talking someone out of their senses, especially for deep-thought people like me."**

 **-Neji**

* * *

At the same time, a certain brown haired teen entered the scene was shocked to find the two cousins hugging each other. "Am I interrupting something?" Tenten asked which broke the silence.

The two quickly had let go of each other and turned to the latter. Neji was just quiet and looking down while Hanabi could only give a smile." Well, no actually, in fact, I just made my cousin feel like he was born again, that's all." She explained.

Tenten just sighed. "Well, just to let you guys know that the Akatsuki hideout has been finally located, so we'll be leaving in a few minutes time." She explained.

The two cousins then glanced back at each other. The hideout has been just discovered and this meant that they were only a few steps away from engaging in a possible battle.

* * *

 **(LOST IN THE FOREST)**

"Man, You've got to be kidding me."

Boruto scratched his head in frustration. He surveyed his surroundings and only to be greeted by the neverending trees that stood in his way. He also wondered if he was going to the right direction or maybe they needed to take the other route? It was just really confusing at the moment.

"Uhmm, Nii-chan are we lost?" The voice of his little sister asked.

"Boruto do you really know where are we going?" The voice of his Uchiha teammate then asked.

The blonde teen sighed. He turned back to face the two girls who were visibly waiting for an answer. Himawari was a bit concerned while Sarada was giving him the looks that he considered a knife in the heart.

"I'm not really sure about this guys but I think we're kind lost somewhere around the forest." The blonde teen explained. He just gave up and told the truth much to the disappointed looks of the two girls.

Apparently, when the team left the Sand Village to begin the search, they were then again met by the vast forest and along the way, the time travelling trio found themselves somehow separated from the main group and it was complete bummer right now. Since Boruto took up the mantle of leading the two girls to the right way, they instead found themselves in the middle of nowhere.

Boruto felt a little bit guilty for being taking up the responsibility but of course, he was just a human, he was not a perfect person, he too has flaws. But he promised to himself and the two girls that he will find a way out of this forest.

As for the two girls, they just chose to looked at the brighter side. With Himawari just believing in her big brother's ability to find a way out while Sarada choosing to help the blonde to find a way out instead of complaining.

It took them about less than 20 minutes to find a way out and in fact, they did really found themselves heading in the right, but different direction. When they were only a small distance away from the sounds and slight light, they could finally see an opening, and there was this wide-open field.

"Finally! Dattebasa!" Boruto exclaimed. He just thanked himself, his Uchiha teammate and his little sister for teaming up right now and this was their reward for their hard work.

Although, all that excitement and celebration immediately turned into caution. There was an eerie silence that took over at the moment. The trio then quickly felt two powerful presence in that wide open field. As they finally took the steps towards their destination, they could also feel the atmosphere changing.

Boruto instructed, the two girls to get behind him and get ready in any case of a possible danger and by the time, they finally reached the area, their eyes widened in shock as they soon discovered that two Akatsuki members were on that open field and they were sitting on some rock formation as if they were in some kind of meditation and trance.

"What in the world!?" Boruto almost exclaimed loudly but he managed to calmed himself down. He then turned to the girls who were pretty much shocked just like him.

"Nii-chan, what are we gonna do?" Himawari asked her big brother.

"Don't worry Hima-chan, We're gonna find a way." Boruto replied back. His mind was now thinking of a way to handle this current situation.

As for Sarada, she immediately recognized that one Akatsuki member sitting in the rock. She was so sure that was her Uncle who now donned the infamous Akatsuki outfit.

* * *

 **(Interview)**

 **"I thought it was Uncle Itachi, and as I got a closer look, It was definitely him with his partner. The question is... What they were doing there?"**

 **-Sarada**

* * *

Not too far from where the time travelling trio, there was now an ongoing battle between the forces of Team 7 and Itachi himself. The only the problem is that they were all unaware that they were only fighting an illusion.

The team also found themselves having a very difficult time facing the latter because he was indeed an S rank nin. Kakashi secretly showered his frustration as he and his team clashed in a mental battle with him.

He was the trickiest person that he ever fought. He could only hope that they could get through him and defeat him. He had full confidence and belief in his students that they could hold their own against him.

Although, he wondered on what has become with the three rookies, they were separated from the main team along the way. So he sent a clone to search for the trio.

"I hope that they're alright."

* * *

 **(Interview)**

 **"I'm really a terrible captain to be honest, How could I lost three rookies while hurrying through the forest? It was a simple task given by Lady Hokage and I failed it. (Sighs)**

 **-Kakashi**

* * *

As for the two Hyuuga cousins, they also found themselves in a similar situation. Apparently, The team had bumped into the former member of the Seven Swordsmen of the mist and currently an Akatsuki member, Kisame Hoshigaki.

The battle started for not too long as the team clashed with the blue skinned man. Hanabi observed her surroundings as there was water splashing everywhere. She found herself witnessing a tight battle between the team and the man.

Hanabi then decided to hid behind a rock. She had planned inside her head and she knew what she was gonna do next. She then drew her kunai, and with her Byakugan now activated, she waited for the right time to execute her sneak attack.

She then surveyed her surroundings yet again and she soon found out that she was just right behind the enemy. She also saw her big cousin, who was still fighting the man.

"Hang on there Neji."

* * *

 **(SNEAKING IN)**

Sarada took a deep breath to calm herself down on what's going to happen next. She observed her surroundings again and saw that the two Akatsuki members were just sitting there. She then turned her eyes back to Uzumaki siblings who nodded at her.

Apparently, the trio had a planned, since they can't really contact the rest of the team to alert them that the real members were here, they then took upon themselves to set up a conversation with the two and if the conversation was successful, they might find the exact location of the hideout.

"You can do this Sarada." The Uchiha girl muttered under her breath. She kept motivating herself non-stop as she slowly took step by step carefully to reached the area.

As for Boruto, He watched closely from behind the scenes, He was considered to be the backup for his raven-haired teammate in case something goes wrong. On the other hand, Himawari just kept quiet and observed the whole scene unfold.

By the time Sarada had reached her final destination. She found herself staring at the two Akatsuki members were seemed to be meditating in a trance. The teenage girl was a bit puzzled but somehow she managed to figure things out. The two members were apparently projecting some illusion somewhere.

Sarada tried to wave her hand on their faces and they seemed to be not aware that she was here. She then turned around to where the Uzumaki siblings were and gave them a thumbs up.

Meanwhile back at the forest, Boruto had finally activated his Jougan to see if there are further more disturbance in the area. As he was surveying the area, he then suddenly noticed something standing on the other side of the forest, the figure was human-shaped and it appeared to be a human who donned a white hooded cloak and was just standing there and observing.

* * *

 **(Interview)**

 **(I'm not sure what I just saw from that background but something told me that it wasn't part of the good side.**

 **-Boruto**

* * *

"What in the world!?" Boruto exclaimed.

"What is it Nii-chan?" Himawari asked. She was startled by her big brother.

Boruto was just very confused and puzzled at the moment. He wondered about the mysterious figure in white. By then, he widened his eyes in shocked as the other Akatsuki member, the blue-skinned one noticed his teammate and stood up.

"Sarada-chan! Behind you!" He tried to yelled out to the latter and warned her that she was about to get attack.

Meanwhile, Sarada raised her eyebrows in confusion. She did not quite understand her blonde teammate who was yelling at her. After a few moments later, She heard something move from behind.

 **"Look what we have here**." A husky voice sarcastically said followed by a sound of large blade being swished around towards the girl.

Sarada immediately avoided the attacked by jumping from her former position and thus evading the blade that stroke the ground. The raven-haired girl quickly drew her kunai and went on a defensive stance. Not more than one second later, the man quickly charged at her and began to swing his large blade to strike her.

On the other hand, Sarada quickly avoided the attacks and managed to held her own by striking the man with her kunai in his knee.

"You can't escape me brat!" The blue-skinned man taunted as he then began to use his water jutsu aggressively to enveloped the whole place with water in an attempt to drown the surprised girl.

Kisame evilly grinned as he thought his plan had worked and as silence took over yet again. He then observed his surroundings and there was no sign of the girl. He thought he finally was victorious.

Meanwhile, back in the forest Himawari was pleading her big brother to help the latter but the blonde just chose to wait as he knew that it was not over yet.

Kisame gave an arrogant smile as he then turned his eyes to his partner who was still meditating. "Looks like you owe me one Itachi." He chuckled as he let his guard down. Although it was a big mistake.

 **"You shouldn't have done that."**

Kisame eyes widened in shocked, by the moment, He turned his eyes back in front, He was then greeted by the girl who somehow survived his attack, and he found himself being hit by a powerful electric punch in the face and the man then noticed something shocking in the girl's eyes.

"Sharingan!?" He exclaimed before being fully hit in the face which sent him flying towards a distance.

Sarada landed on the ground safely, she was really into it right now and was ready for some more. She gripped her kunai tightly.

Kisame gritted his teeth in annoyance. He immediately recovered as he prepared to teach this girl a lesson on who's the strongest.

"You're gonna pay for that brat!" He yelled out to the girl.

Sarada then smirked. "Oh yeah? How much is the price for punching you in the face?" She taunted which really made him furious.

The Uchiha girl then prepared herself for an oncoming onslaught by the the man. She was not scared right now but in fact she was waiting for this moment to execute her skills once again in a long time.

"Shannaro! Bring it on Shark boy!

* * *

 **(Interview)**

 **"Well, I guess it was the moment that fired me up, I really wanted to make sure that I would teach him a lesson. Forgetting the fact that I was the one responsible for bringing myself into this situation.**

 **-Sarada**

* * *

 **CHAPTER END.**

 **AN: Thank you for reading the chapter!**


	24. Arc 2: The Search Part 2

**Disclaimer:**

 **I don't own Naruto. Kishimoto Does.**

 **Author's note: Hey there Readers!, I'm back with a new chapter! I Hope you guys enjoy! I would also like to thank you guys for the Reviews. Favorites, and follows :) Thank you for also sharing your tips and thoughts for the story.**

 **Take note: Recently, The beta reader for this story will be very busy for awhile. So that means I will be alone on writing story. I'm just a beginner writer so please go easy on me whenever there is a mistake in the story.**

 **Thank you for understanding :)**

 **BETA EDITED BY: TERRAFOX2002**

* * *

 **Arc 2**

 **Chapter 11: The Search Part 2**

"What the heck just happened?"

Everyone was caught by surprise as the enemy, which was Kisame Hoshigaki who they were fighting suddenly vanished into thin air. What was once the chaotic battleground, was now turned back into a quiet land, with the ruins of the destroyed rocks scattered everywhere.

Neji wondered on what the in world happened just now. One moment he was giving all he got to beat the man and then in just a blink of an eye, he was gone as if he just faded away from existence. The brown haired Hyuuga observed his surroundings once more and he saw an unknown unconscious man on a small crater that he did not knew.

"What!?" Neji muttered. He was really confused right now. Who was that man? and why he was wearing an Akatsuki uniform.

"Looks like this one was used as a decoy." His sensei, Might Gai said as he inspected the unconscious body of the man.

Silence then took over for awhile. Neji suspected that there was something going on here. He just realized that the enemy there were fighting just now was, in fact, some kind of decoy or just a way to delay the mission. Then something came up to his mind like a bolt of lightning. There was no trace of his little cousin. She was suddenly nowhere to be found.

"Hanabi!?" Neji exclaimed. He immediately used his Byakugan to search for any trace of her chakra and after a few moments of searching for his cousin, he finally found her laying in on the watery ground in a few distances away from his former spot.

Neji immediately rushed to her. By the time he got there, the Hyuuga girl was slowly recovering from her accidental fall." Hanabi, are you alright?" He asked as he helped her stood up from the ground immediately.

"Hey big cousin, can you slow down for a bit?" Hanabi finally spoke. She asked her cousin to pull her quickly from the ground.

"Oh, I apologize," Neji said. He quickly slowed down and did carefully helping her. By the time it was finished, He bowed his head down to apologized which amused the other.

Hanabi could only shook her head and sighed." Neji, You don't have to be so formal, It's alright, I'm fine okay?" The Hyuuga girl explained. She was just really annoyed at the moment.

"What happened to you by the way?" He asked. Neji also explained that he was so busy fighting the enemy that he didn't really notice what his cousin was doing the whole time during the fight.

Hanabi could only sigh. She explained that she was hiding in a certain spot during the fight as she was preparing to sneak up behind the man and ambush him from behind. When she had executed her move and was about to strike the man from behind when he suddenly vanished into thin air. She then found herself on the wet ground after that whole ordeal.

Neji then took a deep breath. He was ready to burst out the truth." I guess we were fighting some kind of illusion just now." He said. He really couldn't believe that the fight was all just a mind game.

"Yeah, looks like it, but we better get going now," Hanabi said. She then finally recovered and headed straight to the rest of their group. They really couldn't really waste their time here. Someone's life is in danger.

Neji blinked a couple times, before snapping back to reality. He also then headed for his cousin to catch up with her and the rest of the group who were investigating the body.

Everyone was really wondering what happened just now. They were kind of expecting a full blown fight that would last for a longer time but instead it was suddenly cut when things were just escalating. The only thing in their minds right now is that if this was just an illusion being projected by the real enemy somewhere, then the reason why it was suddenly cut because of the fact that someone must've interfered with the real one somewhere.

Both Hanabi and Neji were thinking of the possibility of the ones who were responsible for this were none other than the time travelling trio themselves. They were not really sure but they've just got that feeling that they were in this mission too.

They also recalled that the lavender-haired girl told them about being assigned to a team. Could that be Team 7 that were placed into?

* * *

 **(Interview)**

 **"We recalled Himawari telling us about being assigned into a mission by Lady Hokage a few days ago. She was really excited about it."**

 **-Hanabi**

 **"We're not really sure for now, there are hundreds of D-rank missions being assigned to first timers or rookies, we can't deduced the fact that they've been assigned into a A-S rank mission such as this.**

 **-Neji**

* * *

 **(THE FIGHT)**

It was like watching a big fight in person instead of witnessing it live on TV. The Uzumaki siblings stayed in their spot as they witnessed the whole scene unfold right before their eyes. But of them prepared themselves if just in case the raven haired teen needs back up.

Himawari gave a worried looked." Nii-chan, are you sure Sarada-nee will be alright?" The lavender haired girl asked. She really wanted to helped her adopted older sister.

Boruto gave an assured smile." Don't worry Hima-chan, She'll be alright." He explained. He still kept his hopes up on his Uchiha teammate. He would also tell people not to underestimate the latter or else they would really get the beating of their lives.

As the battle continued between the former member of the swordsmen of the mist and the raven-haired rookie, It was like a David vs Goliath scenario, Kisame was all over the place, trying to consume the girl with his deadly water attacks and jutsus combined it with taunts to reduced the latter's confidence.

As for Sarada, she was not that knowledgeable on water techniques but based on her experience on facing a group of rebellious nins before during her trip to the village of the hidden mist years prior, She finally knew what to do at least for now. The raven-haired girl then studied her opponent's recent moves against her. It was aggressive yet a bit reckless. She found herself evading every strike and slash attempted on her. It was like a cat and mouse fight, the fast versus the furious.

Kisame on the other hand, was getting annoyed, he was aggressively attacking and unleashing his wrath against her but somehow, the girl kept evading his best attacks which baffled him. She looked like a mere beginner to him. He then began performed a jutsu which summoned some kind of water dragon and he ordered it to chased the girl.

Sarada narrowed her eyes, things just got a little bit harder. She found herself being chased by a water that looked like a dragon." You've got to be kidding me." She muttered.

Kisame could on grinned. This had really tired her out, he thought, if he could keep this up, when the time came he can finally strike the exhausted girl, and get rid of her.

On the other hand, Sarada's brain was just too fast to think already of a solution. She knew exactly what to do. She then performed a jutsu which summoned a shadow clone as a decoy and as a distraction. By the time, the water dragon turned its direction to the clone, the raven-haired teen then executed her final move. She immediately found an opening and quickly charged towards the man and then threw shurikens at him to distract him.

Kisame had been ready for this and decided to use his large blade to blocked the shurikens, and when he finally caught the girl charging towards him, He raised his large blade above his head and was now on its way to smash the girl.

Sarada having been predicted this earlier on, quickly evaded the attacked as the large blade smashed the ground instead. The raven-haired Uchiha then stepped on the blade and then used it as a bridge to climb and performed a powerful kick on the surprised man's face.

Kisame who had not anticipated this, found himself being met with a powerful kick in the face which sent him flying to a distance and crashed into a tree.

* * *

 **(Interview)**

 **"Since He was being the aggresor, I tried to lure him into spot where he is unable to react fast and I quickly saw that opportunity.:**

 **-Sarada**

* * *

Meanwhile, the Uzumaki siblings were secretly cheering for their raven-haired friend as if they were watching the Shinobi world championship on the live television.

* * *

 **(Interview)**

 **"It doesn't surprise me for one bit. Sarada is a slick girl with a strength of a monster, I gotta say!"**

 **-Boruto**

 **"Sarada-neesan is quite the power girl, so lesson learned, don't mess with her or get beat up.**

 **-Himawari**

* * *

Sarada landed on the ground safely, She then attempted to charged yet again but was then suddenly stopped as someone grabber hand. The raven-haired girl then turned her eyes directly to the one who stopped her and she widened her eyes I'm shocked to see that it was none other than her Uncle Itachi, who finally was out from his trance.

" **He has had enough, so please stop** "

Itachi said. He then also turned around to face a certain spot where the siblings were hiding.

"I know you guys are hiding there so you can come out now!" He added much to the surprised of the siblings who glanced at each other before deciding to come out from their hiding spot.

Itachi then turned his eyes back to the girl." Look, I don't want any more of a commotion going on here, so what do you want to talk about?" He asked the girl.

"Itachi, what the heck are you doing!?" Kisame who was just recovering from the beating yelled out to the latter.

Itachi ignored his friend's pleas as he gave a serious looked at the raven-haired teen." Now what is it that you guys want to know?" He asked yet again as he let go of the girl.

Sarada, on the other hand, took a deep breath. She hoped that he can answer this simple question.

"Do you know where the Akatsuki is keeping the Kazekage?"

* * *

 **(A DECOY)**

During the battle with the Akatsuki member, Itachi Uchiha saw how the whole team struggled against his deadly mind games and illusions. They were mentally exhausted instead of being physically drained. They also realized that the enemy was just an illusion to distract them and delay their mission so that the organization could extract the tailed beast out from the Kazekage's body.

Everyone was currently observing the decoy's body. Chiyo recalled that this black haired young man used to worked for the Sand village and served in the council for four years. She was wondering about what he was doing here since his disappearance after Akatsuki assault on Suna.

There was silence that took over the area. Lady Chiyo explained the fact that not just the organization but many sought out the power of the Jinchuriki's and used them for their selfish intentions.

Sakura then turned her eyes to her blonde teammate who was looking down and holding his stomach area which contained the mark of the seal which kept the powerful Kyuubi inside of him.

"Naruto." Sakura could only muttered his name. She was getting even more concerned and worried about her teammate's situation.

On the other hand, Kakashi sighed. "I think we should better get going, there's no time to lose now." He explained while the rest turned their eyes to him.

There was really no time for them to just stand there and wonder. They needed to proceed with the mission and rescue the Kazekage as soon as possible.

As the rest of the team left the scene, Kakashi wondered about the three rookies, He could only hoped that the clone that he sent had finally found them and that they were alright.

* * *

 **(THE LOCATION)**

There was deathly silence in the open field. Sarada gave a serious look at the older Uchiha. She also turned her eyes to the Uzumaki siblings and nodded as an assurance that everything was alright. She wanted to know the location where the Akatsuki were keeping the Kazekage.

"Dammit Itachi!, don't tell them anything!" Kisame was furious. He had warned his friend to not tell any classified information, especially the whereabouts of the Kazekage.

On the other hand, Itachi just kept quiet. He observed the raven-haired girl for a few moments before sighing all together." Tell me, Why should I tell you the Kazekage's whereabouts?" He asked.

"What's it to you?" Itachi asked. He wanted to know the real reason why they wanted to rescue the Kazekage besides being him the leader of the Sand village or being the priority of a rescue team coming from the leaf village.

Sarada just kept quiet. She really didn't know what to say right now. She had to admit that she was not that really good of an explainer just like her blonde teammate but she had to really think of a way to answer this question.

Sarada then took a deep breath and then opened her mouth." It's because that Uncl- I mean the Kazekage is not just any kind of person." She explained although she almost made mistake on calling the latter "Uncle".

Itachi then began listened to the girl's reason. Sarada, on the other hand, based her answers to the true stories that she heard from the Seventh Hokage himself back home. She would go onto explain that the Kazekage was not just the leader of the sand village, but he was a person that really inspired and helped a lot of people especially the Seventh himself. She also explained that the Kazekage was the only hope of the sand village because he was not corrupt or selfish like the other leaders. Without him, the future of the village will be dark forever.

The Uzumaki siblings were just really watching their friend in awe, They really didn't expect that she would speak like that. It was kind of new to them, to be honest, but they were really proud of her for showing her confidence.

As for Sarada, the explanation part really made her tired but it was worth it. She had told him every good reason that she had to know where the Kazekage's whereabouts. "Please, I need to know." The Uchiha girl added.

Itachi just stared at the girl. He then observed her eyes. She was the girl from the bakery shop! He never really thought that she was a shinobi herself and was on this mission. But he can see the truth on the girl's eyes, She was not lying and those words that she had said just now came from the heart.

Itachi sighed as he pointed to a certain direction." The hideout is in that direction." The man said. He would go on to explain that the hideout itself was a huge cave and a giant red arch would be standing before that particular cave.

"There is also paper seal placed on that huge boulder covering the cave. You have to find four other paper seals that are placed somewhere around this forest and once you removed them all, then you can finally remove the main seal on the boulder." Itachi explained. He was giving the right details for them to be careful when they proceeded.

"Would there be consequences once we remove the seals ?" Sarada asked. She wanted to make sure that there will be no sudden traps once they removed those seals.

Itachi smiled. "I guess you guys have to find out for yourselves then." He explained. He really didn't what those seals were capable of once they were removed.

Sarada nodded in understanding. "Thank you." The raven-haired girl thanked her Uncle as she beckoned the Uzumaki siblings to follow her to the direction that the latter pointed.

As the time travelling trio left, Silence then took over the whole area yet again. Itachi smiled as he watched the trio disappeared into the forest towards their destination.

"Dammit! that hurts!" The disgruntled annoyed voice of Kisame exclaimed. He finally recovered and stood up from the ground. He then managed to walk but was limping all the way to his partner.

Itachi just sighed. He then headed towards his friend and helped him regained his balance and composure." Are you alright, Kisame-san?" He asked. He showed his concern for him.

"What the heck are you doing!? Do you realize what you've done!?" Kisame scolded the Uchiha. He was really confused and furious for his friend had done just awhile ago.

Itachi sighed but smiled." Calm down Kisame, I know what I'm doing." He simply explained. In fact, He really wanted the trio to succeed in their mission.

"Do you realized if the rest of the members discovered about this?" Kisame asked yet again. He felt like an old man with his blade acting as a cane to support himself.

Itachi sighed, yet again." You know a good relaxing tea would solve everything." He said as he tried to lighten up the mood while the other just grunted in annoyance.

"What happened to you by the way? You looked like someone who has been knocked out by a kid two times." Itachi asked. He was just wondering, In fact, he did not see the whole fight unfold. He only saw the last part of the fight where he saw hid blue skinned friend getting kicked in the face by the girl just now.

Kisame gave an annoyed face." Yeah, That must be the girl you're always talking about and she just beat me up like a rag doll." He explained with sarcasm in his tone of voice. He would then go on to explain that this girl had the Sharingan and he swore that he saw it with his own eyes.

Itachi just sighed and smiled at his friend." I know but let's just put that aside alright?" He said much to the surprise of the blue-skinned man.

"You treat him as if she was a member of your _**family**_ ," Kisame commented While the other just simply smiled.

As for the Uchiha himself, He wondered about the girl. When he stared into her eyes, He saw her memories which really shocked him. Memories of seeing his younger brother who was now a grown up man and the girl herself calling him "Papa". He began to connect the dots and found himself realizing that she was not just any other person working in some bakery shop or nor she was just a normal girl.

She was an Uchiha and her future niece.

* * *

 **(Interview)**

 **"I've always had that feeling since the beginning and I was right all along to figured that she was indeed my little brother's daughter and my niece.**

 **-Itachi**

* * *

 **(THE SEALS)**

When the first team, which was Team Gai arrived the front of the hideout, they were suddenly greeted by a large red arch which meant that they were in the right place.

Hanabi widened her eyes in surprised. She found herself staring at a very large circular boulder that stood higher and above the red arch. She deduced that this giant boulder acted as the door to the cave.

"Gaara's on the other side of the boulder," Pakkun informed as the small pug examined the cave.

"What's the plan?" Tenten asked. She really didn't know what to do with the boulder.

"I say we smash it!" Rock Lee suggested on the other hand. He was confident that they can destroy the boulder.

"No." Hanabi muttered aloud. She noticed that there was a seal placed on the middle of the boulder. They cannot destroy this boulder, but they will have to remove the seal on that boulder.

"It's a five seal barrier!" A familiar voice then said. The whole team turned around to see that the main team for this mission, Team 7 had finally arrived.

Might Gai widened his eyes." Kakashi! You're just in time my friend!" He greeted his fellow Jounin partner.

"Sorry for being a bit late, We ran to a bit of trouble along the way," Kakashi explained as he arrived with his team along with Lady Chiyo.

"Naruto! Sakura!" Both Rock Lee and Tenten greeted their two old friends.

"Hey guys!" Naruto greeted back. As he shook hands with Rock Lee.

On the other hand, Tenten and Sakura greeted each other in their usual way of greeting.

"It's been long time man!" Rock Lee said.

"Yeah! You still look the same, Lee!" Naruto replied which caused the two guys to chuckle loudly.

Neji and Hanabi's faces turned into looks of disappointment. They were really expecting that the trio, especially Himawari will be here alongside the rest of the team but instead they were greeted with false hope. Although, they tried to think positive. They thought that trio wouldn't be involved in this difficult mission or else they would get hurt.

"So Kakashi, what do you know about that seal over there?" Gai asked.

"Just like I said, It's a five barrier seal," Kakashi said. He would then go on to explain that they cannot simply remove the seal on the boulder, It turns out there are other 4 seals located somewhere around this area and they have to remove it at the same time.

"Neji can you locate them using your Byakugan?" Gai then asked his student.

Neji simply nodded and then immediately used his Byakugan to accurately locate the paper seals and then informed the rest that they were not far from the paper seals, the seals were just nearby from their current area. Might Gai also had provided several bluetooth earpieces to the rest for them communicate once they finally locate their targets. Their goal was to remove the paper seals at the same time.

By the time that they finished preparing themselves, they were finally given the signal to go and they all headed to the locations of the other 4 seals. Only, Naruto, Sakura, Kakashi and Lady Chiyo were left behind at the main entrance. They also wore their own. bluetooth earpieces so that they can know if all the paper seals had been removed at the same time.

* * *

 **(MEANWHILE)**

The time travelling trio found themselves rushing their way through the forest. They really have to get those seals before they can go to the main Akatsuki hideout. Although, The blonde teenager suddenly stopped his tracks midway through much to the surprised of the two girls.

"Is there something the matter?" Sarada asked. She was a bit confused about why her teammate stopped midway through their journey.

Boruto nodded. "Alright girls, we really need to discuss on removing those seals, there really could be traps." The blonde teen explained. Maybe his Uncle Sasuke's brother could be right.

"So how do we gonna removed them safely Nii-chan?" Himawari asked. She was wondering on how they were gonna removed the paper seal without triggering any traps.

Boruto sighed but then smiled. He then drew something from his bag and gave them both some kind of rectangular-shaped communication devices which were known as "Walkie Talkies".

"What are we gonna do with these walkies?" Sarada asked. She also wondered on where her teammate got this devices from. Does he even have his own supplier? or was he just buying things out of the blue?

"Simple, Its for us to communicate when we plant those killers in those seals." The blonde explained which made the two girls even more confused.

"Killers? Alright Boruto, what's your plan exactly?" Sarada asked. She was a bit annoyed that her teammate wouldn't tell her the answer straightforwardly.

Boruto then drew something from his backpack yet again to reveal some kind of five explosive tags and he then gave two of the tags to both girls and kept the other three. The blonde then took a deep breath and then grinned.

"Simple, we're gonna blew up those seals."

* * *

 **(Interview)**

 **"It's a good thing, I brought those killers in this mission, I never thought I would be using them soon and Hell yeah! It's gonna be fun!"**

 **-Boruto**

* * *

 **CHAPTER ENDS**

 **AN: Thank you for reading the chapter**!


	25. Arc 2: Illusions

**Disclaimer:**

 **I don't own Naruto. Kishimoto Does.**

 **Author's note: Hey there Readers!, I'm back with a new chapter! I Hope you guys enjoy! I would also like to thank you guys for the Reviews, Favorites, and Follows :) Thank you for also sharing your tips and thoughts for the story.**

 **Take note: Recently, The beta reader for this story will be very busy for awhile. So that means I will be alone on writing story. I'm just a beginner writer so please go easy on me whenever there is a mistake in the story.**

 **Now, to answer some questions:**

 **1\. Why would Tsunade send them this in rescue mission.**

 **-Probably, the fifth knew that there were many suspicious watchful eyes inside the system so in order to protect the trio. She would be giving them new identities to blend in well and that includes assigning them into their first mission which coincidentally revealed to be Gaara rescue mission.**

 **2\. Sarada not loosing Chakra when he fought Kisame?**

 **-Don't worry about that, she is just unaware of it. The effects of the fight with Kisame will take a toll in future chapters.**

 **3\. Why would Itachi tell some of the truth to Sarada?**

 **-Of course He is just a normal human being. He has emotions and sometimes He had to let it go in secret to someone who can be trusted to not spill no beans to others, He felt that Sarada is somehow the one and he felt comfortable by telling her some truth.**

 **Thank you for understanding :)**

 **(BETA EDITED BY: JUSTONEMOREWRITTING)**

* * *

 **Arc 2:**

 **Chapter 12: Illusions**

There was no time to be wasted. Even though, the paper seals were just nearby, the trio would still need to act fast and hurry to their respective destinations to finish their goals. As for a certain Uzumaki girl, Himawari was focused and concentrated on her goal, she was all alone now. It turns out that the trio decided to split up and headed to the certain spots where the paper seals were placed.

Himawari found herself traversing through the forest. She held two explosive tags which she requested from her big brother. She had also wanted more challenge and so her current goal now was to tackle two locations where the paper seals were located. She then examined the explosive tags that her big brother had given. It seemed that these tags had some kind of timer in it and whenever it was placed on something, the timer will automatically start the countdown once it was placed on the seals.

The journey throughout the forest towards her destination somehow was short-lived. In fact, the lavender haired girl herself had used her Byakugan to track down the paper seals before she found herself being alone. So far not a single person was in those locations, so she had to continue on keeping eye on them.

She had to admit that the seals were just nearby, but it was not that easy. She had to be also careful and alert for any possible dangers ahead but so far all seemed to be in one piece.

"I think I'm almost there." Himawari muttered aloud. She could finally see the location of the first paper seal from a few distances away and no one was there.

The Uzumaki teen grinned confidently.

" Nice," she muttered yet again.

It had not taken too long for her to finally reach her destination. The first paper seal was located on a tree. The seal itself had white-based design and some red symbols that were on it. Himawari first examined the seal, She had to really make sure on which right spot should she put the explosive tag. In no time, the girl finally figured it out and she placed the explosive tag beneath the seal.

* * *

 **(Interview)**

 **"I have to admit, planting this seal bombs is quite the fun to be honest. Nii-san really had the craziest ideas.**

 **-Himawari**

* * *

"Alright, one down, one more to go," she commented. She then drew out a pen from her pocket and marked the explosive tag with a number five, she also had checked the time via her small digital watch on her wrist.

"5 minutes sounds fair," she told herself. She then left the premises immediately to go to the second location.

Unknown to her, by the time she left, was a certain Bushy Brow teen who was on his way towards the same area where the latter had left the explosive tag and he had really no idea on what's in store for him once he would get there.

* * *

 **-MEANWHILE-**

"This forest is very tricky."

Hanabi wondered as the forest they are traversing now can be very tricky as if it was trying to confuse them. She then turned her eyes to her big cousin who had kept silent throughout the journey. She wondered on what the latter was going through in his mind. He always kept things just between himself and nothing more.

On the other hand, Neji was just focused about his goal right now.

Although there were thoughts circling in his mind, he was wondering if Himawari and others were really here on this mission. He had come up with a lot theories but he still can't find a possible explanation whether they are here or not.

* * *

 **(Interview)**

 **"It just bothers me that somehow they could be here. I just a feeling but it seemed to real for me.**

 **-Neji**

* * *

Hanabi gave a worried looked at the latter." Neji, Are you alright? Is there something bothering you?" She asked which caught the attention of the other.

"No, I'm just fine." Neji simply replied. He then noticeably sighed which was giveaway that he was bothered about something.

His cousin could only give him a worried and confused look. Hanabi thought about her cousin. Since this mission started, he had been very busy with his thoughts lately. Was He still thinking about Himawari and the guys?

As they both continued on with their journey. They could really feel that they were not the only ones that were going to their destination. Things were just about to get started.

* * *

 **-A SHORT WHILE LATER-**

It didn't take long enough for Himawari to reach her second location. The lavender haired teen finally found herself observing the very place where the second seal was located.

"Found you!" Himawari exclaimed when she arrived at the second location, which was revealed to be an open-field.

The Uzumaki teen widened her eyes. She was really surprised. She had never thought that seal would be located and placed in a rock formation in the middle of this grassy field...maybe it was just her imagination. Although, no matter happens, even the seal is placed on a rock or whatsoever; she was still going to plant that explosive tag and blow the seal up.

Himawari then examined the paper seal yet again. It obviously had the same symbols on it. She sighed as she then placed her back pack on the grassy ground and opened it. She then drew the last explosive tag and carefully placed it near the seal.

The teenage Uzumaki sighed yet again. She then drew the walkie talkie from her pocket.

"Guys, do you copy?" Himawari asked the other two through the walkie talkie.

 _ **"Yeah, I'm here Hima, What's your status?** _the voice of her big brother asked through the walkie talkie.

"I've finally planted the explosive tags on the seals; I guess we will have to wait for two minutes then." Himawari explained. She finally finished her goal.

 _ **"Same here!"**_ The voice of Sarada also spoke through the walkie talkie.

" _ **Great job, girls! Now check your timers, it should be about two minutes before the explosive tags will detonate."**_ The voice of the blonde teen replied through the walkie talkie.

"Roger that! Boro-Nii!" Himawari simply said.

She then sighed as the she sat herself on the ground. She really felt a bit tired recently, of course this was her first mission and she really needed to get used to this. But it will take time.

The wind grew stronger as the lavender haired girl waited for the countdown. Along the way, she felt that her consciousness was fading away. This was a sign of her slowly falling asleep. A few moments later she finally closed her eyes and drifted away to the dreamscape never knowing that the seal beside her started to glow brighter.

 _During her trip to the dream world, the girl found herself in some kind of wide open field. It was just not any field but it was a field of tombstones. She was caught by surprised when she found herself standing on a familiar grave which was none other than from her Uncle Neji. As she observed the gravestone of her Uncle, she noticed that there was a small candle that stood above the gravestone and the fire was quickly burning in the candle at a faster rate._

 _Himawari was confused; she tried to figure out what this scene meant. The candle began to burn faster and a few moments later a strong wind that blew past her. It was so strong that she had to cover her eyes and then her world begun to spin until further darkness quickly engulfed her._

Himawari consciousness suddenly returned. She opened her eyes to see a blurry image of a person standing in front of her. The Uzumaki girl then slowly stood up and once she got off from the ground, her vision became clearer. She widened her eyes surprised to see her Uncle Neji in standing in front of her, and he was giving her a eerily cold stare.

"Uncle Neji!? I never thought I would see you here!" Himawari surprisingly exclaimed. She never expected her uncle to be here or maybe he was also in the mission too!

The latter just kept silent and kept staring at the lavender haired girl. Himawari on the other hand felt goose bumps all over her. There was something strange and suspicious about this person standing in front of her. Was this really her Uncle Neji? Why he was acting so strange? This was really giving her the creeps.

There was an eerie silence that took over. The wind grew stronger to further intensify the atmosphere around the area. Himawari's mind was on overdrive, she didn't know what to do but somehow she felt that this was not her Uncle Neji. Sensing that danger was just around her, she then decided to escape but when she about to scram away from the area, the imposter Neji then suddenly grabbed her tightly on the arm.

Himawari eyes widened in shocked. So her suspicions were true. This was not her Uncle Neji. She tried to escape but the imposter Neji just won't let her go. The struggle continued for a few moments until the imposter then attempted to strike the girl in the face. She saw this and immediately dodged the strike coming towards her by moving her head and neck on the right side.

The imposter Neji wasted no time by unleashing another strike at her which turned into a series of combos which surprised the latter. On the other hand, Himawari managed to anticipate this move and she just evaded every strike that was meant for her.

Soon enough, the Imposter Neji begun to use some of the clan's moves which the girl noticed. Himawari, who was trained by the Hyuuga clan as well, was able to predict the moves. It was the clan's famous Gentle Fist that was mainly used against her.

Noticing that the Imposter Neji wasn't using the Byakugan, Himawari quickly activated found out that the imposter was some kind of physical illusion but it also had the chakra system inside of it. Knowing that this was really not the real one, the lavender haired girl finally realized that she was free to do whatever she wanted with this emotionless imposter.

Himawari waited for the right moment and when it came, he was able to execute her move to finally end this conflict. When the imposter made the first strike, the girl immediately blocked it. She then swiftly executed her next move by unleashing her own style of the gentle fist, a silent yet lethal jutsu by using a combination of strikes in which her fingers were used instead of her palms. The enemy was then startled by the attack which it never recovered.

Not too later, Himawari realized that the countdown was almost over and she also noticed that two familiar people that she knew unexpectedly arrived at the scene.

"Oh no," Himawari muttered. The countdown had reached the 5 second mark. It was only a matter of time before the explosive tag explodes.

* * *

 **(Interview)**

 **"I knew that I didn't have much time, so I hurried myself as fast as I can, not knowing that Uncle Neji and Aunt Hanabi are also approaching the area.**

 **-Himawari**

* * *

 **-AT THE SAME TIME-**

Hanabi and Neji arrived at the scene only to be greeted with a surprising fight between the lavender haired girl and the imposter enemy. The two were really shocked and confused. First off, how did Himawari get here? And why she was fighting a clone of the brown haired Hyuuga?

"What in the world?" were the only words Hanabi could say right now, but where did the clone came from?

She then turned her eyes towards her cousin

." Neji, what's the meaning of this?" Hanabi asked much to the surprised of the other.

"How would I know? We just got here Hanabi!" Neji denied. In truth, He really didn't know what was going on except that his future niece was fighting some sort of clone of him which he never even summoned.

Hanabi just sighed," Never mind, let's just help her!" She exclaimed as she beckoned the latter to follow her and help their future niece.

They were also amazed on how well the girl fought. The fighting style and stance really belong to the Hyuuga clan. She had the toughness and gracefulness of a fighter. This was actually the first time that the two had seen her fought. The only awkward thing is that she was pummeling the imposter clone to death to which Neji found it as really strange to be in the imposter's place.

* * *

 **(Interview)**

 **"This was actually the first time that I saw Himawari in a real fight. I must say she is very impressive even though, she wasn't a Shinobi back at her home."**

 **Hanabi**

* * *

 **-BACK WITH HIMAWARI-**

Himawari grabbed the imposter Neji by the arm, pulled him and then slammed him on the rock where the explosive tag was located. She dashed towards the two as an attempt to escape the area before it exploded.

"Aunt Hanabi, Uncle Neji! Run while you still can!"she exclaimed while on her way towards them.

* * *

 **-BACK WITH NEJI AND HANABI-**

Meanwhile, the two Hyuugas were very confused now. Why was she yelling at them to run? Was there any reason for them to run?

Although, Neji quickly noticed an explosive tag was placed on the rock and he immediately realized that they have to get out of here before it blows up.

"Hanabi stop!" Neji warned as he tried to stop his cousin from going there.

A few moments later, there was a small beeping sound that could be heard. The countdown has finally ended. Not too long, the explosive tag finally detonated followed by a loud explosion which engulfed the rock and the imposter enemy.

Himawari was almost caught by the explosion and she found herself being sent flying away along with Hanabi by the shockwave. Luckily, Her Uncle Neji was prepared and had anticipated this.

Neji had prepared himself as he braced himself to catch the two girls who were on their way towards him. Not too long, the two girls finally hit the young man like darts that were thrown at him.

The older Hyuuga caught the two girls just in a nick of time and he found himself sliding on the ground because of the impact.

At the same time, similar explosions would also be heard from nearby areas. Neji wondered if those explosions were connected to this one. He then turned his eyes towards the two girls who were still covering themselves believing that it was not over yet.

Neji could only sigh but smiled. The girls were in one piece and they were really heavy to be honest.

* * *

 **-BACK WITH ROCK LEE-**

The apprentice of Youth didn't expect on what would happened next. The poor young man had just arrived at his destination and was ready to remove the seal from the tree when he suddenly noticed the explosive tag which was placed on tree too.

Rock Lee was taken by surprised and was able to get away from the area when the explosive tag suddenly detonated without warning. The young man found himself crashed into a nearby tree and was just shocked about the explosion.

He was now wondering who planted the explosive tag there. This was just so unexpected or maybe even random. He found himself just staring at the blank space in shocked and at a loss for words.

* * *

 **-WITH TENTEN-**

By the time she finally arrived at her destination, she was greeted with the same treatment as her Bushy Brow teammate got. It was when she had arrived at the place where the paper seal was located then, which was a tree in a small cliff.

The weapons expert herself wondered about a mysterious explosive tag that was placed beside the seal. She decided to examined it and was about to go near the area when the explosive tag suddenly glowed brightly which really startled her.

A few seconds later, the area surrounding her was engulfed in a loud explosion. Tenten found herself falling to the watery ground because of the shockwave of the explosion.

"What the Heck?" Those were her last words before getting herself in a nice splash of water into her face.

* * *

 **-WITH MIGHT GAI-**

The worst one that could possibly happen is with the Original Youth himself. Might Gai was really an energetic person. He would show up with charm and flair every time.

The only difference is that when he arrived at the place where the other seal was located. He just went there in style and he didn't even pay attention to the explosive tag that was beside the seal.

"Alright guys I just reached the location where the seal located and by my signal, we're going to release them together!" Mighty Gai said enthusiastically as he contacted the rest via Bluetooth but he was not getting proper replies from his students, only groans and whining about on how their butts hurt.

"Hmmm, that's strange?" He wondered why each of them was either groaning in pain or whining about getting almost caught up in an explosion.

A few moments later, the man himself finally realized what was really going on. He took another looked at the seal and there was an explosive tag just right beside it.

"Oh crap," Gai muttered aloud before the explosive tag detonated and the area around the latter exploded. The main instructor of Team 8 found himself flying in air and screaming as if he was on the most dangerous ride in the world.

His screaming voice can also be heard via the Bluetooth device.

* * *

 **-MEANWHILE WITH TEAM 7-**

When the screaming of his friend was heard across the communication device, Kakashi took it as a sign that they finally removed the seals.

"Alright, Sakura Go ahead!" Kakashi exclaimed as he finally removed the main seal on the huge boulder. He instructed his pink haired student to finally go for the punch to destroy the huge boulder.

Not in more than second, Sakura finally carried out her move as she charged towards the huge boulder with only one goal. By the time her fist made contact with rock, the boulder was instantly destroyed into pieces.

The team had finally achieved their primary goal and as the giant pieces of rocks collapsed to the ground, the cave finally opened to reveal the two Akatsuki members who were expecting them. The enemy had a special gift for them

The team was greeted by the sudden shocked of seeing the motionless body of the Kazekage lying on the ground as if he was already dead.

The most affected was Naruto himself, he could feel his blood boiling and his mind was feeling with infinite rage."What you've done to him you Akatsuki Bastards!" Naruto yelled out in anger.

The two Akatsuki members, Deidara and Sasori just kept quiet. They were in fact delighted to see the shinobi from the leaf in the current state especially the blonde jinchuriki who was filled with rage and despair.

 **"It's great to see you again shinobi of the leaf**!"

* * *

 **-AWHILE LATER-**

The mission to blow up the seals was a complete success. Boruto had finally met up with his Uchiha teammate in a certain location and the two found themselves traversing their way along the woods towards the main hideout of the Akatsuki.

"You think will be there just in time?" Sarada asked.

"I'm not sure Sarada-chan, but we will be there in no time." Boruto explained. They already knew the location of the main hideout because of his little sister who managed to locate it via Byakugan.

"What about Himawari?" Sarada asked. She was a bit worried on what happened to the younger Uzumaki. She had not been speaking up through the walkie talkie since the seals were blown up.

At the same time, the walkie talkie began to act up and the voice of the Uzumaki girl could now be heard through the device.

" _ **Sorry for the late reply guys but I'm fine**_." The voice of Himawari spoke through the walkie talkie. She then started to explain that she was with both of her Uncle Neji and Aunt Hanabi who was surprisingly in this mission.

Boruto and Sarada took surprising glances at each other. They were in fact surprised to hear that Team 8 was also here to assist in the rescue mission.

At their journey continued to towards their destination, thoughts were now going around their minds. Both were thinking if the situation was there was alright. Could the rest be now fighting the Akatsuki members? What happened to their Uncle Gaara by the way? Was he even alright?

As they finally got near their destination, they could easily feel an immense power somewhere. They were at the side of the small cliff overlooking a small river. They were trying to look for that source of immense energy which was very familiar to them and in a little while a large white bird made of clay flew passed by them and what seemed to be an Akatsuki member was riding that bird.

"What the..." Boruto trailed off as he stopped his tracks to watch the giant bird made of clay.

Sarada on the other hand, observed the person riding the bird. It was none other than the Shinobi bomb expert, Deidara. The giant clay bird that he was riding on carried another person which seemed to be the body of the Kazekage.

A little while later, a familiar blonde teenager and white haired masked Shinobi also passed by them. They were on pursuit to capture the man.

"Boruto, It's Lord seventh and Uncle Kakashi!" Sarada exclaimed.

Boruto simply nodded.

" Alright, Sarada here's the plan, We're going to split up! I'm going to help the Dad catch that guy while you go to the main hideout and helped Aunt Sakura out!" The blonde clearly explained. He then instructed his teammate as if he was a commander of the army.

Sarada simply nodded.

" Got it!" she said.

"Alright let's go!" Boruto exclaimed as the two finally split up. The blonde headed to give a helping hand to rescue the Kazekage while the raven haired Uchiha headed towards the main cave to assist her mom and Lady Chiyo.

Apparently, the two teenagers were suddenly thrown into the main game. They knew that this was a time to prove themselves and showcase how the shinobi from the future get things done right away.

The Main Event had just begun...

* * *

 **(Interview)**

 **"Well, all I could say is that these Akatsuki should be hiding under their beds right now.**

 **-Boruto**

* * *

 **CHAPTER ENDS**

 **AN: Thank you for reading the chapter**!


	26. Arc 2: Separate Fights Part 1

**Disclaimer:**

 **I don't own Naruto. Kishimoto Does.**

 **Author's note: Hey there Readers!, I'm back with a new chapter! I Hope you guys enjoy! I would also like to thank you guys for the Reviews. Favorites, and follows :) Thank you for also sharing your tips and thoughts for the story.**

 **(BETA EDITED BY JUSTONEMOREWRITTING)**

 **P.S: I am just newbie so go easy on me**

* * *

 **Arc 2:**

 **Chapter 13: Separate Fights Part 1**

The fight had only just begun. With the destruction of the first puppet, it was not over yet. The cloaked human figure escaped his puppet armor and landed safely on the ground. He was disappointed that his only and precious self-made armor has been destroyed by this Leaf Shinobi but he was impressed that she had such strength to destroy the armored puppet.

"The show ends today Sasori," Lady Chiyo exclaimed. She was confident that they can finally defeat her grandson and bring justice to the Kazekage.

There was only silence in response. The cloaked figured immediately recovered and turned towards the two.

"That is my intention as well," he finally spoke as he then removed his hood to reveal his true form and self.

Both Lady Chiyo and Sakura were overwhelmed with surprise and shock. Surprise, because the pink haired Kunouichi never thought that the enemy would be a young man. Shock, because Lady Chiyo was in disbelief that the man somehow didn't age in all these years and pretty much looked the same as the last time she saw her grandson.

"He hasn't aged a day!" Lady Chiyo commented. She observed her grandson who had a calm and collected manner.

"There is always this thing that I really wanted to show you." Sasori said. He drew a single scroll from his pocket and opened it to reveal some symbols that glowed brightly. Not in more than a second, a loud puff of smoke appeared and when the smoke cleared, a human-size puppet came into existence. It was very much familiar and shocking, especially to Lady Chiyo.

"It can't be..." Lady Chiyo trailed off. She was staring directly at the Third Kazekage or more so what's left of him. It was somehow a real human body that has been made into a puppet.

"The Third Kazekage?" Lady Chiyo exclaimed while Sakura gave the latter a confused and surprised looked.

The elderly woman simply nodded. She would go on to explain that the Sand Village leader disappeared many years ago in some unknowm circumstances. He was the most powerful Kazekage in the Sand village's history and she wondered how could the Kazekage himself fall into the hands of the enemy but she quickly figured it out.

"So it was you and your former partner, Orochimaru, who were responsible for the third's disappearance!" Lady Chiyo said. She accused the young man. She would then go on to explain that Orochimaru was the one who also killed Gaara's father, the fourth Kazekage and her grandson was the one who guided the enemy.

Sasori could only chuckle.

"You're mistaken old lady," He said as if she was not his grandmother.

"It was my subordinate who guided them but indeed, I was partnered with Orochimaru in the organization back then," he explained his side of the story.

Sakura was just silent. She could feel her blood boiling. This guy was the snake sannin's partner and he probably had conversed with him.

"So if you were Orochimaru's partner then that means you know him personally," the pink haired Kunoichi said. She was not kidding around.

"Then you're going to answer a lot of question that I have right now," she added.

On the other hand, Sasori was not intimidated. This young woman had the guts to speak to him like that. He was just smiling at them because he really wanted them to feel his power and wrath on what he could do to them.

Sasori sarcastically sighed," I believe that would be quite impossible."

He said as he readied himself for another round of bloodbath.

"Unfortunately, I must take you two out," he simply said. Not more than a second, He finally ordered his Kazekage puppet to charge towards the two.

Lady Chiyo gritted her teeth." Sakura, Brace yourself!" she exclaimed as she controlled the pink haired Kunouchi through the chakra strings attached to the girl.

Sakura nodded. She could only narrow her eyes as she prepared herself for what's to come in the form of a mindless human puppet of the enemy.

Sasori smiled evilly. He was so sure that they were going to be eliminated in his hands and there will be no survivors.

* * *

 **-MEANWHILE-**

Sarada traversed through the woods. She was hurrying as fast she can to reach the main hideout where an ongoing battle between her young mom, Lady Chiyo and the enemy.

The Uchiha girl knew that she had no time to waste. Negative thoughts were now coming up to her mind, she was worried that maybe that she was too late and the enemy had already taken care of them. Sarada then shook her head. It was not the time to be in this current state right now, she had to act fast.

There was also something bothering her lately. She somehow felt weak as if her Chakra had been drained. She wondered if this had to do with the fight against her Uncle's partner.

Sarada then suddenly stopped her tracks as she held on to a tree. Her knees were shaking and she felt a bit dizzy as if she was going to collapse to the ground. She felt her breath shortening every single second. She thought she was losing consciousness.

"Come on! Not now!" the Uchiha girl gritted her teeth.

She tried to calm herself down. Maybe she was just having an anxiety attack. A few seconds later, all of the signs disappeared and she finally regained her composure and she then finally had the strength to travel again.

The girl then made a determined face. No matter what happens, she was going to reach that place and helped her young mom. She was going to make sure that Akatsuki member or whoever that person's identity was not going to hurt her.

As time passed by, memories began to cloud her mind yet again. She began to think of her young mom. To be honest, she was just getting to know her personally. She really loved her and she won't forget how she risked her life to save her back home. It was now her turn to save her.

By the time she finally arrived at her destination. She was greeted by an unexpected surprise. Sarada expected that the hideout would be a huge cave itself but what she saw was a cave that had been half-destroyed with its upper part gone.

Sarada could only widen her eyes in shocked when she saw the current situation inside.

It was bloodbath.

* * *

 **(Interview)**

 **"It was pretty much chaotic with all these puppets running around like pest. Especially, when you see them trying to overwhelm Mama and LaDy Chiyo."**

 **-Sarada**

* * *

 **-MEANWHILE-**

"I never really thought that Lady Hokage would assign you into this kind of mission!"

Hanabi wondered as she gave a very surprised looked at her future niece, who was currently resting on a tree. The Hyuuga girl was currently treating the girl's minor wounds that she sustained during her fight with the imposter clone of Neji.

Himawari could only sigh. This is what Granny Hokage had assigned them. This was their first mission so they really had to deal with. She also explained to the two that the trio had been somehow separated with the main team along the way and they stumbled upon two Akatsuki members who were revealed to be none other than, Itachi Uchiha and Kisame Hoshigaki.

Both Neji and Hanabi's eyes widened with shock.

"You managed to find them?" They both yelled in unison. This was just a surprising revelation.

Himawari simply nodded.

" Yeah, and we were able to converse with them. Well at least Sarada-nee managed to have a peaceful talk with her Uncle Itachi," she explained.

Neji then sighed.

" No wonder why that Kisame guy vanished into thin air while we were fighting him. He was just an illusion," he said as he finally figured it out. It now made sense.

"So Sarada fought the shark man and she managed to kick his butt?" Hanabi asked. She couldn't believe that the latter managed to do the impossible on an S rank criminal.

"Well, not in the butt, more likely in the face." Himawari objected. She was a witness and she saw how her adoptive big sister literally kicked the man in the face to knock him out.

* * *

 **(Interview)**

 **"It was just unbelievable to hear the true story, My feelings were right all along, The trio had been assigned into this mission and they have already contributed from behind the scenes."**

 **-Neji**

 **"Hearing Sarada kicking the Shark moron on the face was really music to my ears. That guy was seriously cocky as freak."**

 **-Hanabi**

* * *

"So where are the two now?" Neji asked. He wanted to know the current situation of the two.

"Well, communicate on a walkie talkie and since all the seals have been destroyed, they might as well be on their way to save Uncle Gaara or maybe helping Aunt Sakura." She explained. These were her theories so far.

"Himawari then tried to stand up.

" We really need to help them," the lavender haired girl said. She can still feel the pain in her body.

Hanabi on the other hand, attempted to calm down the latter." Hima, your wounds are not healed yet and we understand what you want to do but you need to rest for awhile." She explained. She was also worried for her future niece; she didn't want for her to get hurt again.

Himawari did what her young Aunt had said. She calmed down and rested on the tree once again. There was this urged to get up and help her big brother and sister but she managed to put that aside for awhile.

Meanwhile, Neji suddenly realized something, if there were explosive tags planted on the seals then that means, Bushy brow, Tenten and his sensei also got involved with those tags which were detonated and created loud explosions nearby, He hoped that they were alright.

"Hey guys do you hear that?" Hanabi asked. She was hearing a familiar voice from somewhere while Neji gave her a confused looked.

There was silence that took over the area. The three kept quiet to find out where the source of the familiar voice was coming from. Then there was this strange urge for them to looked up in the sky.

Not in more than a second, the familiar voice, which belonged to Might Gai, could be finally heard nearby. A few moments later, something crashed on the ground in front of the three which startled them.

When the smoke cleared, an exhausted Might Gai could be seen in the small crater that the impact had created.

" _**Man, that was a long ride,**_ ' He commented as he laid down on the grassy field. His voice was tired. Apparently, He was screaming the whole time he was flying in the air. He didn't know how long it was but it somehow felt great.

As for the three teens, they were just staring in confusion and amusement. How did the youthful sensei of Team 8 ended up here? And why was he flying in the air just a moment ago?

"Sensei!" Neji exclaimed. He headed to where his sensei was located,which was in the small crater.

Hanabi could only shake her head. She wondered how her big cousin ended up having a sensei like that in his team. She was quite amazed on how he was never influenced by the latter's Youth principles.

She then turned back to her future niece to say something but then she was greeted by the girl's silent and worried face. Apparently, her mind was somewhere else.

"Hima, is there something wrong?" Hanabi asked. She was curious on what the girl was thinking right now at the moment.

Himawari then snapped away from her thoughts as she then looked back towards her young aunt.

" I'm fine Aunt Hanabi, It's just that I'm worried about them," she explained.

* * *

 **(Interview)**

 **"I really wanted to catch up to them, I can use my Byakugan anytime I want to locate them easily, yet the current situation is preventing me.**

 **-Himawari**

* * *

 **-BACK WITH SARADA-**

The Uchiha teen had finally arrived at the main site where the current battle was taking place between the pink haired teen and the elder Shinobi puppeteer. Sarada was witnessing a battle that was so intense that the place looked like a small war zone. She can't believed that the situation escalated that quickly.

As she neared the area, the raven haired teen then decided to head towards a particular area where she will not be noticed by the enemy. From there she watched as the battle unfolded in front of her eyes. By the time she had arrived, she saw how her young mom, who was battered and wounded, destroyed the third Kazekage puppet which also shattered the black metallic large blades that acted as a trap.

Right now silence that took over, it was more like a time out for everyone to recover. Sarada saw how her young mom treated the wounds of the elder puppeteer. They also had antidotes injected in their body to prevent and neutralized the poison. A few moments later, her young mom took all the available time to rest. She had let out all the pressure that was building up inside of her.

Sarada felt an urge to help her young mom. She was about to stand up when she suddenly realized that it was not the right time yet. Somehow, she had to let the things unfold before she can join the conflict.

* * *

 **(Interview)**

 **"I can't just rush things up, I needed the perfect timing to enter the scene without any flaws.**

 **-Sarada**

* * *

 **-MEANWHILE-**

The Puppet master of the Akatsuki couldn't believe what he had just witnessed. His most valuable and beloved puppet had been destroyed by some mere teen from the leaf village.

"You're an impressive kid," he said. He was quite amused the fact that she destroyed with one single punch.

The pink haired teen and the elder Chiyo kept silent. They were just preparing themselves for a second assault. They knew that this was not over yet.

Sasori just smiled." It's been a long time since I've used this, you people could be the first ones to experience my masterpiece," The puppeteer explained. He then removed his Akatsuki cloak to reveal his body which had been turned into a puppet.

Everyone was shocked to see the big revelation. The question was about him not having aged a day has been finally answered. He had turned himself into one of his own creations. His body was all artificial except for one thing, his heart that was keeping him alive.

Lady Chiyo and Sakura were at loss for words. They didn't knew what to say right now. They just took cover behind two separate rock formations planning on what to do next.

On the other hand, Sasori just smiled as he positioned in a offensive stance, he drew both his hands and pointed towards the two. He opened his fist to reveal two holes and not in more than a second fire burst from the his hands towards where the two were taking cover.

The final fight had just began.

As for Sarada, She found herself being the observer or audience for another while. The final fight was beginning to take shape. She knew that she would have to play her role in the near future but for the mean time she had to wait.

As an observer of this battle, the Uchiha girl saw how the puppet master of the Akatsuki used his puppet body as some kind of killing machine to deal with his enemies. His puppet body had all the weapons you could think off. It sprouted huge blades from its side, spinning rapidly to attacked the two.

It was not only that, during the battle, the puppet body even unleashed deadly acid gas that melted any solid object but the two managed to avoid the attack itself. The person who was on the frontline was none other than Sakura herself. She was the one who was taking all the shots while the elder Chiyo continued to back her up with her puppet abilities.

It was like some kind of action movie. Sarada remained in awe as she watched the battle unfold. Unbeknownst to her, the memories were slowly coming back to her to the point that she thought she was back home fighting the unknown enemies that had invaded the village. The Uchiha herself felt her knees shaking and her heart beating faster.

There was a moment where victory was on their doorstep. Sakura managed to perform a powerful attack on the enemy by pulling the metallic chains that sprouted from the his puppet body. By the time, she managed pull those chains. she had gotten the opportunity to get as close to the enemy as she could and unleashed a single punch that sent the Akatsuki member flying away to a distance and the puppet's body got destroyed and scattered into large pieces, especially the actual heart which landed on a specific spot beside the puppet's body.

It was that moment when everyone thought that the battle was over. However, a few moments later there was a strange energy that engulfed the destroyed the puppet's body and suddenly in a few blinks of an eye, it was put back together again and Sasori came back to into being once more to continue the battle.

That moment, the battle had reached the climax. Sasori, who finally had had enough of playing games began to treat this situation seriously. He smiled as he opened a small part in his chest, where his heart was located and a surged of Chakra erupted from it releasing a large number of strings. He then drew out a scroll that was attached to his puppet body and with a few hand signs and incantations, He summoned his own army of puppets to counter his grandmother's small puppet army.

Thus the battle continued with the situation turning into a small but full-blown war. Sakura braced herself for another round as she began to defend herself from the attacking large number of puppets.

Meanwhile, The memories took a toll as the raven haired teen began to see visions from her war-torned home. When she blinked for the first time, she suddenly found herself seeing her young mom being replaced by her real mom. Sarada widened her eyes in shocked, this was the exact same scene she remembered. The scene where her mom took her last stand to protect her from the invading enemies.

Sarada began to panic, She didn't know what to do now. At this point she felt helpless. She began to survey her surroundings and it was total chaos. Her world began to slow down as she cannot hear a single thing around her. Unbeknownst to her a large puppet had took noticed of her and it headed towards her from behind.

As for Sarada, she just closed her eyes to get away from this. She knew that the trauma was still there and she was beginning to see visions of how her mom perished and she really had no idea how to deal with it. It was just silence around her as if there was no battle at all. A few moments later, she felt an unexplainable peace in her mind. There was this presence that gave her comfort as if it was telling her not to worry.

Suddenly, A very familiar voice spoke which the girl recognized.

 **"Sarada, Mama will be always here for you."**

By this time, Sarada opened her eyes. She felt a strong surge of energy that electrified her body. The anxiety and nervousness was gone. It was replaced with full confidence and determination. By the time, the large puppet reached her point blank range, it quickly raised its large blade to strike the girl.

Sarada's eyes automatically activated her sharingan, and the girl immediately evaded the strike, she then turned around with full speed and performed a single powerful punch which instantly destroyed the puppet into pieces. She then turned around saw that other puppets were taking notice of her.

The Uchiha girl smirked as she then charged towards the centre of the battle, she was sure going to enjoy this.

* * *

 **(Interview)**

 **"I finally managed to gather myself up and took charge, this is a one time chance and I knew I had to be perfectly quick as possible."**

 **-Sarada**

* * *

 **-A LITTLE WHILE LATER-**

The battle continued to rage on, The combined force of Sakura and the elder Chiyo's white puppets clashed with Sasori and his own army of creations. If someone would be present during the battle they would actually witness a royal rumble between those puppets.

However, the main event slowly shifted on the unexpected appearance of the raven haired time traveller. Sarada was having the time of her life, since she joined the battle, she was now a big help towards her allies. She somehow attracted a large number puppets which charged towards her.

Meanwhile, the other three had took noticed of the newcomer, who was easily rampaging through the puppets one by one. The elder Chiyo was surprised to see the girl because she hadn't seen her before. Sakura was shocked because she was not aware that the rookie was here and she was fighting the puppets, and she held on her own. Sasori was amused to see this newcomer, somehow she reminded him of Itachi.

As for Sarada, her emotions were sky high. She was not furious or whatsoever, she wanted to get everything straight and she was looking for a way for the situation to not end in a bloodier note. She was going to make sure that everyone was going to stay alive.

"Who's that young lady?" Lady Chiyo asked.

"That's Sarada, She's one of the rookies that were assigned on this mission," Sakura explained. She also wondered on how she managed to get here.

"I see." Lady Chiyo nodded in understanding. She observed the girl and she was amazed on how well she handled the situation. She was quite skilled and smart.

By the time Sarada was finishing the last few puppets, she felt a someone heading towards her and she turned around to see Sasori who was the one charging towards her. The puppet master, who yielded his own two blades, attempted to strike the girl.

On the other hand, Sarada having already anticipated this move, quickly evaded the blades that were meant to strike her, she then drew her Kunai from her pouch and countered the move by slashing the blade itself so hard that it broke and fell to the ground. She then decided to go on the offensive and clashed fire with fire.

"How impressive," Sasori commented as he then unleashed a series of combos using his blade against her. He wanted to see for himself if this was strong but unbeknownst to him, he was underestimating the latter.

Sarada carefully evaded those attacks against her and waited for right moment to counter it. At the same time, she was already thinking of a way on she could finish this in one swoop.

Sasori was observing the girl as he then noticed a familiar red color in her eyes.

" _Sharingan? But that's impossible?"_ he thought to himself. He only knew that Itachi and his younger brother were the only ones who had the ability, but this girl could somehow also use it.

Sarada on the other hand, had finally planned about what to do next. She blocked and evaded his attacks as she tried to looked for an opening. When the right time had finally came, which was when Sasori made another attempt again to slash her, the Uchiha girl then dropped her kunai as she then grabbed the man's hand and struggled a bit to hold on.

Sasori smirked.

" It's no used, You'll eventually get tired of struggling," he taunted at the girl who just kept silent as she held two of the man's hands which prevented him from doing anything but slowly the man was gaining the upper hand was overpowering the girl.

Sarada then looked up and met the man face to face and eye to eye.

" I think you're mistaken," she said with a smile much to the latter's surprised.

The Uchiha girl's three tomoe red eyes then began to transform into another form as it spun to take a shape of small red flower and made a direct eye contact with the latter.

Sasori's eyes widened in shocked.

 **" Mangekyou Sharingan!** ," He exclaimed as he came contact into one of the most deadliest eye abilities of the Uchiha clan. His vision began to change as small black flames started to appear all around his surroundings and he tried remove or escape but the black flames just kept on coming and climbing all over his puppet body.

Sarada stared and observed the man. She had used the last few of her Chakra to cast out a dojutsu called " **Amaterasu** " which produces black flames at the focal point of the user's vision.

Meanwhile, Sakura and Chiyo were just standing there and watching the whole scene unfold. Sakura was wondering why the man was going crazy. What had gotten into him? Chiyo was trying to figure this out. This was the first time her grandson was in current state as if he was being tortured by an invisible force.

Meanwhile, Sarada waited for the perfect time to dispel the jutsu and once she removed the jutsu, she immediately went for the final move by charging at the latter with full speed, she then gave the final blow by performing a combo of hooks and haymakers. The last one was an uppercut to the chin which sent the latter flying away to distance and he crashed into a rock formation.

Silence had taken over the whole area. Sakura and Chiyo were just staring at raven haired teen. They were in disbelief that she managed to defeat Sasori in a nick of time. Just who was this girl?

Sasori laid down on the rocky ground. This was the first time that he felt pain and was defeated. All hope was lost now. He just wanted to end this once and for all. A few moments later, he was then met face to face again with the girl who stood above him. The girl gave him a serious stare as she held his blade on her hand.

"What are you waiting for? Go ahead and kill me," Sasori said. He urged the latter to end his life once and for all and he expected that from her. There was no point of getting himself redeemed from this.

Sarada gave a serious stare. She gripped the blade from her hand and she raised it to strike the man. Although, she had no intention to kill him but to only scare him and show him that there is still hope to change.

As she was about to do it, a voice then yelled at her.

"Young lady please stop!" Lady Chiyo yelled out. As she immediately headed towards her grandson. She couldn't take it anymore. She still loved her grandson.

Sasori was taken by shocked as he didn't expect his grandmother to rush to his side. All these years, he never felt loved by his grandmother but somehow there was this strange emotion that he felt. He then stared at the raven haired girl who was giving him a smile of encouragement as if she was telling that there is still hope to change.

Sarada on the other hand, stared at the red haired puppeteer and his grandmother. This was the first time that she actually seen them like this. She then turned around to face her young mom who was giving her worried face.

"Sarada, Are you okay?" Sakura asked as she took a few steps closer.

"M-Mom?" Sarada muttered before suddenly collapsing to the ground due to exhaustion and overuse of her chakra. Sakura quickly caught the girl before she can fully land on the rocky surface.

Meanwhile, As Sarada felt her consciousness was fading away, her last thought was that of her blonde teammate. What has happened to him. Was he alright?

She hoped that he was.

* * *

 **(INTERVEW)**

 **"The rust was still there and I almost got myself into almost screwing up, it was good thing that I managed find a small weakpoint to finally beat him.**

 **-Sarada**

* * *

 **-MEANWHILE WITH BORUTO-**

It was like a cat and mouse chase. It had been an hour since Boruto started to pursuit the Akatsuki Member Deidara who was riding his giant bird made of clay.

"Man, are things gonna be like this for awhile?" Boruto asked. He wondered if they were going to continue the cat and mouse chase all day.

The blonde teen also observed his young dad and Uncle Kakashi who were also in pursuit to catch the culprit. Boruto felt irritated because the enemy won't shut up and kept taunting the two. He had to find a way get unnoticed and attack him from behind. Although, How's he gonna do that?

"Come on Boruto you can do this!" the blonde teen was overwhelmed with thoughts. He was currently on the upper ground and was dashing his way through the forest. On his left side, he can see the whole scene of the cat and mouse game.

Boruto then took a deep breath. He finally made up his mind as he prepared himself. Apparently, He was gonna jump of the cliff towards the giant clay bird. A few moments later, the blonde finally decided it was time, but first he was gonna do a special move for the enemy.

By this time, Deidara had unleashed his clay bombs in the form of small creatures which jumped to its target. Although, the two leaf shinobi managed to avoid his attacks. He also survived being teleported away by the white haired shinobi via the Kamui ability.

Deidara could only smile. He knew he had the upper hand. He was confident that they wouldn't get him that easy. Although, the celebration was short-lived.

He suddenly felt a presence coming towards him. It was not from below but from left side. The Akatsuki bomb expert then turned to his side to see some kind of ball of energy that was going towards him.

"What!?" Deidara exclaimed. He was suddenly caught off guard by an unexpected attack but suddenly, the ball of energy disappeared into thin air.

Deidara took a sigh of relief as he deduced that the ball of energy or a Rasengan was just an illusion.

" You think that would scare me to fly down?" he taunted.

 **"Yeah, Definitely it will jumpscare you!"** a voice then suddenly yelled.

As Deidara was going to say his next words, the ball of energy suddenly reappeared in front of him and not more than a second it went directly straight to his face which sent him directly into the forest.

Naruto and Kakashi were wide eyed in surprise. They were still pursuing the man when he got suddenly hit by something unusual which was some kind of rasengan but it was somehow flying. Who was the one responsible for this? Where did that strange Rasengan came from.

As for Boruto, he finally made the jump and safely landed on top of the giant clay bird. He suspected that his Uncle Gaara might be inside the bird and as he was about to drew his kunai. The clay bird suddenly turned its direction and headed to the forest much to the surprised of the blonde.

"You've got to be kidding me?" Boruto exclaimed as he held on to the bird who then flew towards an area of the forest where its true owner was located.

The clay bird was flying at a rapid speed and was heading towards Deidara, who was just standing there and holding a clay bomb in his hand. He was evilly smiling as he had prepared something for this newcomer. It was payback time.

For Boruto, He just made a confident smile. He then braced himself for the impact. He knew that he was heading directly towards the man and was gonna clashed with him at any second. The blonde then drew his Kunai from his pocket and readied himself for the clash.

"Let's do this Dattebassa!"

* * *

 **(INTERVIEW)**

 **"I've heard that this Deidara guy is quite the arrogant son of a gun, It's time to teach him a lesson in humbleness."**

 **-Boruto**

 **CHAPTER ENDS.**

* * *

 **AN: Thank you for reading the chapter!**


	27. Arc 2: Separate Fights Part 2

**Disclaimer:**

 **I don't own Naruto. Kishimoto Does.**

 **Author's note: Hey there Readers!, I'm back with a new chapter! I Hope you guys enjoy! I would also like to thank you guys for the Reviews. Favorites, and follows :) Thank you for also sharing your tips and thoughts for the story.**

 **(BETA EDITED BY JUSTWRITTING1MORETIME)**

* * *

 **Arc 2: Separate Fights Part 2**

"Man, this is really hurts!"

Who knew that the explosion from awhile ago could inflict some pain for a certain Bushy brow shinobi. Rock Lee gazed at the blue sky as he still lay down on grassy ground. His thoughts were currently forming in his mind in the form of questions, like why was he here in the first place? Or who was responsible for that explosive tag that almost brought him to the brink of death.

Rock Lee slightly chuckled. He was a student of Youth and why would he feel so tired now? Apparently, He should be on his way and searching for the others. He was worried about them because he hadn't heard their responses via the Bluetooth communication device.

"What has happened to them?" he asked himself. The last time he heard their voices, was around the time when the explosion took place. He heard them screaming through the small speakers. He wondered if they were at the same position as them, getting blast off by the explosion.

An hour had already passed since and Bushy brow decided to rise as long as he had the strength to do. Although, as he was about to stand up, he felt a sharp pain in his leg.

Rock Lee cringed. He then darted his eyes towards his legs and was greeted by a small piece of wood that had slightly impaled a particular area on his left leg. Bushy Brow was a bit horrified to see this and he almost fainted because of it.

He tried to calm himself down by taking a number of deep breaths. He just doesn't want to think about his current injury right now. A few minutes had already passed and still there was no one around to help him. He tried to contact the others via the Bluetooth device but no one was answering his calls.

"You've got to be kidding me!" Rock Lee exclaimed. He rested his himself again but this time it was on a nearby tree.

"Looks like I'm on my own for awhile." Rock Lee thought. He really needed to stand up and find the others or at least one of them but he's going to have to go through with this serious injury first before he could stand up. Maybe he should take lessons from Naruto to further improve his chakra so that he could summon a shadow clone to help himself.

Rock Lee could feel his consciousness was fading away. He was beginning to think that this was just a dream and when he wakes up, he would be back at the village. That sounds like a really good idea!

As the young man closed his eyes, he suddenly felt a presence nearby and was heading towards him. Rock Lee's consciousness was slowly being brought back and by the time he opened his eyes once again, he saw a familiar teenage brown haired girl staring worriedly at him.

"Tenten is that you?" Rock Lee asked. His vision was quite blurry at the moment. He had to confirm if that was really his teammate in front of him.

"Yes it's me Lee," Tenten replied back. She wondered what happened to her teammate and why there was a piece of wood that was sticking out his leg. Did someone attack him?

By the time Bushy Brow's vision became clearer. He finally had the opportunity to see his teammate and he widened his eyes in surprised.

"Tenten? What happened to you? W-Why are you all wet?" he asked.

Tenten could only sigh. She would go on to explain that when she got to the place where the seal was located, She noticed that there was an explosive tag, which was placed beside the seal and when she was about to investigate further, the explosive tag suddenly detonated and exploded.

"Well, good thing you managed to avoid the blast," Rock Lee commented. It was safe to say that his teammate was in one piece.

Tenten nodded." Yeah, But that is how I got wet, I landed on the water." She explained. By the time she had gotten away from the blast, she had unexpectedly landed on the watery surface of river. She also wondered who put those explosive tags there and how did this someone managed there first before her.

Rock Lee nodded in understanding.

"I see. You're not alone," he said as he beckoned the latter to turn around and pointed to the area where the destroyed tree was located.

Tenten then did what the latter had said as she turned around to face the destroyed tree. She immediately realized that her bushy brow teammate was in the same situation as she had. She then turned her eyes back to him and gave him a sad looked.

Rock Lee forced a smile.

"Yeah I know, But we really need to...ahh come on!" he cringed in pain yet again as he tried to stand up forgetting that his left leg waa seriously injured by the blast.

Tenten held her teammate carefully.

"Careful Lee, you can't just stand, you're injured!" she said as she placed her backpack on the ground. She then opened her back pack and drew the necessary things that she needed.

Rock Lee observed his teammate who was pulling out some medical supplies from her backpack.

"What are you doing?" he asked.

"Relax Lee; I know what I'm doing. I'm going to treat your wound," Tenten replied. It was Good thing that she brought some medical supplies in this mission. In addition, her friend Sakura, shared some of her some useful knowledge in the form of basic ways on how treat a wound like what she was seeing right now on her teammate's leg.

"Alright, Lee just calmed down, I'm just going to remove this piece of wood on your leg slowly," Tenten explained as she wore then wore a pair of gloves and started the procedure.

On the other hand, Rock Lee simply nodded. He made a very tough face to show that he wasn't afraid of any medical operation just like this.

" Come on Rock Lee, You have the power of Youth, You can do It and-" As he was about to finish his sentence, his teammate had already pulled out the small piece of wood in his leg.

Instead of screaming in pain, he just fainted back on the ground. Maybe this was how he reacted to pain every time.

* * *

 **(INTERVIEW)**

 **"Oh man, when you thought Rock Lee can withstand any pain, and you get a scene of him trying hard, Oh well..."**

 **-Tenten**

* * *

- **AWHILE LATER-**

By the time Tenten had finished the successful procedure. She had to admit that even though this was a pretty much basic thing, it was quite a challenge to treat his wounds. She really had to be careful and not screw up. She did all what she can to treat the wound as possible. In fact it was just a small wound in the flesh.

The brown haired weapons expert sat down and rested herself on a nearby tree. The whole thing really tired her out and she began to think that being a medic-nin wasn't that easy based on this experience.

Tenten took a couple of deep breaths. She observed her teammate who was still in slumber. It looked like he had fainted when she had removed the small piece of wood from his leg.

Now silence was the one in charge for while. Thoughts began to circulate her mind. She thought about the others and how they would be doing right now. Were they still fighting the two Akatsuki members Sasori and Deidara. What about their Sensei? What had become of him since he was also involved in a similar situation much like theirs.

Then suddenly, there was a loud explosion that was heard from few miles away. Tenten snapped from her thoughts as she turned her eyes to the direction where she heard the loud explosion. It was then followed by multiple blasts as smoke began to engulf that area.

Tenten widened her eyes in surprise.

"What could be happening there?" she thought. She then looked towards her teammate who was still unconscious.

"We really need to get out of here," Tenten thought as she stood up and headed towards her unconscious teammate.

"Come on Lee," she said as she attempted to carry the unconscious young man. She was going to carry him on her back and she hoped that he wasn't that heavy.

Surprisingly, Bushy brow wasn't that heavy…instead he was very light. Tenten quickly remembered the training that their sensei have given to them and she realized that all the training that they had were to improve their speed, agility and it made them light.

"Thanks Gai-sensei," she muttered as she began her journey to find the others while carrying the unconscious Rock Lee.

* * *

 **(INTERVIEW)**

 **"Also, the way He weighs right now, He is like freaking feather!"**

 **-Tenten**

* * *

 **-BACK AT THE HIDEOUT-**

The battle was officially over. The shinobi from the leaf and sand village had succeeded in defeating the Akatsuki member, Sasori. This was also the first ever time that they managed to apprehend the latter by not forcibly killing him. The fight took a long while and it was not an easy fight to begin with. But because of the arrival of certain raven haired rookie who surprised everybody and was actually the one who defeated the enemy himself, the fight abruptly ended.

Sasori stared and observed the current situation before hand. He was currently tied by metallic chains and was heavily guarded by his grandmother's puppets. He wondered why there were so paranoid about him escaping contrast to the truth that he was not going to do it at all. All his creations were destroyed and he had run out of confidence to fight back.

Thoughts were flowing around his mind. There was a reason why he had decided to throw in the towel. When that newcomer arrived, he was amused on how easily the girl could handle his creations and so he had decided to fight her himself, in order to test her abilities further more let alone unknowingly underestimating her. When she had began to show her strength and wits, that when he realized that he was not match from her. He also began to doubt his sanity if he really saw the "Sharingan" in her eyes or was it all just a Genjutsu to begin with?

The last thing that he noticed about the girl was in the sense that she was telling him something important. Sasori knew what she meant that there was still hope to redeemed himself for all the atrocities that he had done ever since he left the sand village. But how was he going to do it? Redeeming himself.

"Hey! Is there something bothering you?" A female voice then asked which snapped him from his thoughts.

Sasori then looked up and was greeted by the pink haired Kunouichi from the leaf village, who was giving him a suspicious stare.

"Why are you giving me that look?" she asked.

Sasori blinked a couple of times before realizing that she was talking to him.

"Oh, I was just wondering if she is a member of your team?" he smiled as he calmly asked his question.

Sakura raised an eyebrow.

" Of course she is part of the team! Just what exactly are you planning?" she asked again placing her hands on her hips. She was treating the unconscious raven haired girl when she noticed that the latter was staring at them lately.

It had been awhile since the battle took place and there was this awkward silence that took over. It must've been really weird when you are conversing with a person that you've fought just now. Well, at least for Sakura it really was plus it's been really weird that the guy has been really behaving lately as if he was really cooperating with them.

Chiyo on the other hand, just observed her grandson. She was really confused on what he did just now. Why would he surrender just like that? Why was he just silent all the time? And was there something that had changed him throughout?

Sasori just simply smiled.

"Oh, that's great to hear! I guess she is stronger than the two of you," he said.

Sakura frowned. She was not in the mood at the moment so she grabbed him by the collar.

Alright then smart butt, I don't really know what you're up to but if you try to escape or even hurt my friends, you're going to get it!" She threatened the man.

Sasori made a surprised face. What did he just said to make her angry?

"Look, I know you people are still furious of with me because of what I've done," he tried to explain. There was no need for them to be serious right now since the fight was over. He just wanted to have a conversation with them.

"But if you people want to get more information about Orochimaru, then I would be pleased to tell," Sasori added which caught the full attention of the two.

"But first, you have got to tell me what has become of Deidara."

* * *

 **-WITH BORUTO-**

Boruto narrowed his eyes as he prepared himself for the big clash with the man. Before that, he quickly observed what the guy was up to, and he immediately noticed that he was holding some sort of clay bombs in the form of insects.

The blonde teenager who was still on the giant clay bird, then drew out his Kunai, He then waited for the right moment to strike. On the other hand, Deidara smirked. He was the owner of that clay bird and he could control it to move its direction. However, the other blonde was one step ahead of him.

As soon as he was about to make the bird do something. Boruto quickly jump off the bird towards the man with full speed which caught the latter off guard. Deidara was shocked as he suddenly felt pain in right hand as he turned his eyes to see that the Kunai that the blonde was holding just now had impaled it. He then looked back towards his former direction to see a fist that immediately went to his face.

Boruto succeeded on his first move as he was able to send the man crashing on the tree while the giant clay bird crashed on a nearby area. However, it didn't stop from there, the teenage time traveler continued to charge towards his enemy.

At the same time Deidara, who immediately recovered from the impact of the punch, then attempted to used one of his own attacks but the other was just too fast and already unleashed another attack by performing a hook which directly went to his cheeks followed by an uppercut in the gut thus an

d the last move was a strong kick that sent him flying from a distance yet again.

* * *

 **(INTERVIEW)**

 **"I didn't have any strategies, I just let the flow take over and within a minute, He's a potato.**

 **-Boruto**

* * *

- **MEANWHILE-**

Naruto and Kakashi who had followed the blonde rookie, finally arrived at the scene and were very much surprised on what had transpired. It seemed that the newcomer was already taking care of the enemy.

"He's strong," Naruto muttered under his breath. He was amazed on how the latter handle the enemy.

He then began to observe his surroundings and he caught a glimpse of giant white clay bird lying on the ground.

"Gaara!" he yelled as he hurried his way towards the bird.

Kakashi, who was also observing the situation, followed the blonde. He can sense his desperation and fear. By the time Naruto got to the giant clay bird, He summoned several clones to help him remove the middle part of the bird because that's where his friend was.

"Please be alive!" Naruto was full of emotions. He was afraid that his friend wouldn't make it because he saw him motionless and unconscious just awhile ago back at the cave.

Kakashi who just arrived at the scene, began to feel weak and he almost dropped on ground but one of his student's clones caught him.

"Kakashi sensei! Are you alright?" The clone asked.

"Yeah, I'm fine; I must've overused my Sharingan." he explained. He then observed his student. He was beginning to sense that things would be getting much worse later on. He can sense the blonde's emotions which were in really higher levels right now.

"I just hope Naruto is okay," Kakashi thought as he watched the blonde, who was searching for the young Kazekage inside the clay bird.

He then remembered a warning from the Toad Sage himself. If Naruto should be taken over by grief and anger, then that would be a sign of the Kyuubi finally taking over him.

Kakashi sighed. He needed to gather more strength if this really happened. He drew a paper seal from his pocket which was given to him by the white haired sannin. He examined the paper seal; He had only one shot and try if ever the Kyuubi takes over his student.

However, Unbeknownst to him, red crimson chakra was slowly forming around the blonde teen.

* * *

 **(INTERVIEW)**

 **"He's emotions were taking advantage of him, which was bad news to be honest. This is a very serious matter.**

 **-Kakashi**

* * *

 **-BACK WITH BORUTO-**

Boruto quickly followed the trail where the enemy landed. It didn't take him more than a second to find the enemy. He was lying on the ground motionless.

The blonde teenager then decided to investigate to see if the latter is really unconscious or was just pretending. By the time that he got to the spot, He was then greeted by shock as he saw that the body was somehow slowly degrading and turning into some kind of white clay.

"You've got to be kidding me" Boruto said. He just realized that this was not really the real enemy but was just some kind of decoy.

"Then where is the real one?" Boruto wondered as he surveyed his surroundings, which was now somewhere in the forest.

There was silence that took over area. Boruto then closed his eyes for a moment. By the time, He finally opened his eyes, The Jougan was activated. He began to survey his surroundings once again to find the enemy's chakra and his total presence.

Not too long, He finally got what he was looking for. As He was about to make his move towards the direction where the presence of the enemy was located, He immediately stopped his tracks. There was powerful malevolent energy that he felt surged from a nearby area.

Boruto widened his eyes as He knew this familiar energy. Not wasting any time, the blonde quickly headed to the area where Kakashi and his young Dad were located.

* * *

- **WITH DEIDARA-**

He had really no choice but to hide for awhile. He was battered, bruised and had lost an arm because of those leaf Shinobi. Deidara hid in bush that was enough for him to fit in.

He was observing the blonde from a few distances away and wondered about his abilities. He had never seen a person so fast and strong that he was able to apprehend him in a short time. It really made his knees trembled for a bit.

Luckily, He made himself a clone made out of clay to deal with the latter. He had to admit that if he was in that clone's place he was going to be turned into Swiss cheese.

* * *

 **-MEANWHILE-**

It was a very long journey from the cave then into the forest. Sakura and the elder Chiyo were definitely tired and beaten to exhaustion. Adding the fact, that they were with an Akatsuki member, who is considered a dangerous S-rank nin. Things got really a bit complicated, at least for the pink haired girl and the elder puppeteer.

However, there was a difference about the situation right now. The red headed puppeteer was not tied to any chain or being heavily guarded anymore and he had in fact volunteered to help carry the still unconscious raven haired girl by using a makeshift portable stretcher that he himself built out of his puppets.

This was really strange for any Leaf or Sand Shinobi right now. An Akatsuki member and S rank criminal showing his kindness and not even doing anything that would be considered a threat. What was the reason for the sudden change in heart?

Lady Chiyo, who was still baffled, observed her grandson. She was trying to search a logical answer that she couldn't think of right now. Was there something that really changed him during the battle? This was the first time ever she had seen his grandson act like this since he had been a young boy.

As for Sasori, he had seen something from the raven haired teen which he cannot explain. It was something that he called "Hope" He wasn't sure why this was affecting him in some way. But he was sure that it was because of this girl, it had given him the chance to redeem himself.

As the group made their way throughout the forest, there was this sudden burst of powerful malevolent energy that they felt from a few miles away and it was so strong that it gave them goose bumps.

* * *

 **-AT THE SAME TIME-**

Himawari suddenly stopped her tracks. She suddenly felt this rage of powerful energy that swept through out the forest. She then turned around to face the others who felt the energy too.

"What the heck was that?" Hanabi asked. She was definitely having goose bumps right now.

For the lavender haired girl, the energy that she felt just now was somehow familiar. She just could't figure it out but she knew that it was from her young dad.

* * *

 **-MEANWHILE WITH BORUTO-**

It was all suspiciously too quiet. Boruto traversed through the forest to search for his Uncle Kakashi and young Dad. The powerful energy just now that burst like wildfire seemed to have calmed down. When he finally arrived at his destination, he was greeted by a shocking sight.

Boruto widened his eyes in shocked.

"What happened here!?" he exclaimed as he observed his surroundings.

It seemed like the area that he was in right now has been turned into some kind of small battle zone with many trees lying on the ground. As the blonde continued to investigate his surroundings, He then suddenly caught a glimpse of a white haired man from a few distance away.

"Kakashi sensei!" Boruto exclaimed. He immediately headed towards the white haired jounin who was laying face down on the ground and groaning in pain.

By the time the blonde arrived to the latter's aid. He immediately turned him around from facing the ground and helped him rest on a nearby tree.

"Hang on there Kakashi-sensei. Could you tell me what happened?" Boruto asked. He was beginning to worry every moment.

Kakashi groaned pain. He tried to get up but his body won't cooperate. He was disappointed that he didn't notice that the Kyuubi would take over in a short time. He would go on to explained that the when they finally retrieved the Kazekage, they were already too late. He was gone.

 _ **"He's gone!?"** _Boruto was shocked. He didn't expect it. He was all in disbelief. Kakashi then pointed to where the body of the Kazekage was located which was rested on a nearby tree.

Kakashi could only give him a sad face that then suddenly turned into a face of warning.

" Boy, you have to listen to me." he said as he drew a paper seal from his pocket.

"Here take this seal." he said. He explained that when they discovered that the Kazekage had passed on that it was too much for Naruto to handle and he fully let his emotions, especially his anger take over him thus the Kyuubi and its Chakra was able to take over him and wrecked havoc just awhile ago. He tried to stop him but he was just too overwhelming and fast.

There was silence that took over the area. Both of them felt an overwhelming presence that was nearing them. It was Kakashi who first widened his eyes in shocked as he caught a glimpse of red crimson chakra behind the latter.

Boruto quickly realized based on the reaction of Kakashi. He slowly turned his head to face the presence that was behind him. By the time, that he fully turned around, He was then greeted by shocked and the current state of his young dad.

"D-Dad?" Boruto muttered under his breath. He almost stuttered as he saw his young dad fully engulfed in red crimson chakra. His eyes then made contact with those menacing crimson silted eyes. He then realized that this was not his young dad that was in front of him.

It was the Kyuubi no Youko himself.

 **CHAPTER ENDS**

* * *

 **(INTERVIEW)**

 **"It's De Ja Vu again, I faced him before in that state and this time, it's five times more dangerous."**

 **-Boruto**

* * *

 **AN: Thank you for reading the chapter!**


	28. Arc 2: Separate Fights Part 3

**Disclaimer:**

 **I don't own Naruto. Kishimoto Does.**

 **Author's note: Hey there Readers! I'm back with a new chapter! I Hope you guys enjoy! I would also like to thank you guys for the Reviews. Favorites, and follows :) Thank you for also sharing your tips and thoughts for the story.**

 **Thank you for understanding :)**

 **(BETA EDITED BY JUSTWRITTING1MORETIME)**

* * *

 **Arc 2**

 **Chapter 15: Separate fights Part 3**

There was silence that took over the area. Both of them felt an overwhelming presence that was nearing them. It was Kakashi who first widened his eyes in shocked as he caught a glimpse of red crimson chakra from behind the latter. This was no good news for anyone, especially for the blonde rookie.

Boruto quickly realized based on the reaction of Kakashi. He slowly turned his head to face the malevolent presence that was behind him. By the time, he had fully turned around, he was overcome with astonishment at the scene that was going on.

"D-Dad?" Boruto stuttered as he saw his young dad fully enveloped in red crimson chakra. His eyes made contact with those menacing crimson silted eyes. The realization dawned upon him that this was not his young dad that in front of him.

It was the Kyuubi no Youko himself.

Boruto could feel his heart beat faster every passing second. He was suddenly part of a situation that was the hardest one yet. He was not really sure if this was his dad or the other taking over but he was sure that he needed to find a way to get out of the dangerous situation at hand.

"Boy, you need to get out here," Kakashi warned. He was extremely worried for the rookie. Facing a Jinchurikki was hundred percent life threatening and he wasn't sure that the blonde rookie could handle the situation he was currently in.

Although, the only thing that really confused him is that he was just standing there and doing nothing. Time was running out. The main goal was to place the seal on the latter's head and then he would calm down instantly.

"Kid, what are you doing!?" he yelled.

"Don't worry Kakashi-sensei; we're going to get through this." Boruto assured the white haired Jounin. They were going to take care of the situation at hand no matter what the consequences might be.

* * *

 **(Interview)**

 **"I know exactly what I'm gonna do, I have did this before and I can succeed again if I'm gonna be patient.**

- **Boruto**

* * *

Boruto took a deep breath to release the pressure. This was not a battle of physical aspects but a battle of wits. He had to outsmart his young kyuubified dad. He begun to examine his surroundings, they were still in the forest and the area around them was quite small so it was a bit difficult for the blonde to move around the place. He decided to think of another area which was wider than here. As he continued to observe his surroundings, He noticed a direction which leads to an area where a small pond was located.

"Jackpot!" Boruto thought.

The place was the one that he was looking for and it was perfect. It provided enough space and hiding spots for him to execute his plan successfully. But he had to get the latter's attention first so that the white haired instructor of the team will be in a safer hands.

He observed his Kyuubified dad. He could describe him as somewhat animal-like since the Kyuubi's chakra was taking over him and his mind slowly. The Kyuubified Naruto was getting to know his surroundings; He was aware of everything and was being kept distracted by all the living objects, even the rustling sounds of the trees in the forest. This also gave Boruto the idea for his plan.

He stared directly at his young dad's eyes so that he can try to get his attention. A few moments had passed and the Kyuubified Naruto finally noticed the other blonde staring at him.

"Grrrrr," Kyuubi Naruto growled. He was seeing everything as a target to be eliminated.

Boruto took a deep breath. He had finally got the latter's attention. The next step was to dash as fast he could to the open ground. This would take a lot of effort for him to do this but he was up for the challenge. But before that, he slightly moved his hand which his Kyuubified Dad instantly noticed. The blonde then tried slightly move to test if the other was going to follow him and he did.

"Alright, Boruto, you can do this!" he kept telling himself over and over again. He felt that his knees clacking.

"Alright on the count of three..." he muttered as he readied himself for the big run.

Boruto's world began to slow down for him. As he finally started the countdown, he knew that he had only one was shot at this so he had to carefully execute his plan and not screw up anything.

 **"One..."** he said. He slowly began to bend his knees.

 **"Two..."** The tension was getting higher. He was just one step away.

 **"Three...!"**

When the last number was counted, the blonde's world sped up in a blink of an eye. He began to move as he made a dashed for it as fast he can. On the other hand, the Kyuubified Naruto immediately followed him towards the said area.

It was like a race against time. Boruto, who was sprinting as fast as he could, turned his eyes towards his and saw his young Kyuubified dad on the same par as him. He was that fast when his taken over by the Kyuubi himself. He also noticed that every tree was going down every time his young dad passed by it.

"You've got to be kidding me!" Boruto commented. This was really not going to be easy. He then turned back to original direction and saw that he was nearing his destination. It was like he was being chased by a human-size wolf.

Everything seemed to going according to plan but when he was finally just a minute away. The teenage time traveler proceeded to form a familiar hand sign to summon several clones but at the last moment, a strong shockwave suddenly hit him from behind.

"What?" Boruto exclaimed as the shockwave sent him flying towards the small rock formations which were situated on the small pond. Luckily, he was able to brace himself for impact and landed on the watery ground instead.

It was still not over yet. Boruto wiped the water out from his eyes. By the time he opened it again, he was greeted by his young Kyuubified dad who was had jumped towards him with his sharp claws ready strike him.

Boruto widened his eyes in surprised. He immediately jumped and was able to get out of his father's way before the he was able to land his claws on his face. At the same time, the Kyuubified Naruto landed on the watery ground and continued to attack the blonde. The bubbling crimson Chakra on his right hand manifested into a giant claw and thus the cat and mouse game continued.

The small peaceful pond area wasn't the same as it used to be. Since two individuals who were in an ongoing chase, the area had been turned into a small battle zone. Boruto, who was still stuck on a situation that could turn him into mashed potatos, was thinking of a way to get himself out of this mess as soon as possible. Meanwhile, He was evading every smash made his young dad.

"Dammit! Dad this is not you!" Boruto exclaimed.

He even tried to talk the latter out but it was not working, then he remembered that his young dad was not in the proper state for any kind of conversation right now. He was facing a mindless entity.

Boruto gritted his teeth. He had to act fast. He didn't want to spend the whole day being the mouse. A few moments later, He finally thought of a way out of here. This was going to be his "Plan B" or last resort to end this once and for all. First he needed to create some space to avoid being smashed yet again. He had to use his speed and agility to get the results that he wanted.

By the time he managed to find a way to create space. The blonde time traveler quickly formed a familiar hand sign and summoned three clones. He gave a small confident smile as he can finally execute his move against his young dad.

He instructed the three clones to disperse themselves around area and distract the kyuubified Naruto until he brought he was on the brink of dizziness and confusion. On the other hand, the kyuubified Naruto was at the height of his alertness and awareness. He kept looking around, specifically towards the three clones who were going around and distracting him.

One clone was trying to distract him by calling out "Over here! and continued to run around the place. The second clone was beginning to attack the confused kyuubified Naruto by giving him surprising punches from every angle. The last clone came from behind the latter and held him. The other two clones also followed the last clone and all of them were now doing to their best to keep him restraint.

"Boss! It's your move!" One of the clones exclaimed. The clones have to admit that they couldn't hold the kyuubified Naruto back much longer. He was slowly breaking free from their clutches.

Boruto wasted no time as he executed his final move towards his young dad. Holding the paper seal tightly, the blonde time traveler burst out in full speed from his former position towards the other young man. On the other hand, the Kyuubi controlled Naruto finally broke free from the three clones, as all of them disappeared into a puff of smoke, and was about attack the blonde was once more.

But Boruto was once step ahead and by the time he reached a certain point where he was finally close, he immediately used the paper seal and shoved into his young dad's forehead. Kyuubi Naruto screamed in pain as he immediately felt the effects of the paper seal which was placed upon him.

As for the teenage time traveler, he was taken to a different journey. By the time he placed the paper seal on the latter's forehead, a bright light suddenly flashed before his eyes. He had begun to see images and scenarios that he could almost really feel it. There, he saw a young blonde boy walking along the streets as the hateful eyes of villagers stood by and watched him.

Then scene had changed and he saw the same young boy being bullied and ridiculed by a angry mob, the young boy was trying to escape for his life but it seemed to be too late. The scene then changed, he saw the same young boy lying on the ground beaten and crying.

* * *

 **(Interview)**

 **"When I saw his memories, I wad shocked to the core, I didn't knew that he had experience that lot of pain as a kid.**

 **-Boruto**

* * *

Boruto was taken over by rage. How could the villagers do that to the poor young boy!? He was about to help the young boy before being brought back to reality once more. His eyes widened in surprised as he was found himself back in the forest.

Boruto blinked a couple of times, before realizing what had happened, He then looked down and saw his young dad was finally back to normal, the Kyuubi's chakra was gone and he was crying like a lost child.

"N-Naruto Are you alright?" he asked.

There was no response from the blonde Jinchurikki. He was just laying there as if he had given up on everything. He had real tears in eyes and he had sorrow and guilt as his only companion right now. He didn't want to talk to anybody about anything.

Boruto sighed. He understood what his young dad was going through right now. The only thing that he can do right now is helped him get up from the ground.

"Let me help you," he said as he proceeded to assist the latter on getting up.

It was kind of a little struggle. Naruto felt weak as if all his chakra was drained and he could only limp while the rookie assisted him to walk back through the area where Kakashi was.

As they made their way back to the area, Boruto observed his young dad who was just looking down as if he had no motivation or energy. He sighed yet again. Another thought had came to him once more, He had an unfinished business with that Akatsuki member but right now he had no choice but to help his young dad and Uncle Kakashi for awhile.

He just hoped that bastard would get his own Karma.

* * *

 **-MEANWHILE-**

Deidara gave a wide grin. It seemed that he had finally got the Leaf shinobi off his tail. He considered himself as a lucky and clever guy for hiding in the spot that they would never think of.

"Looks like I'm free to go," the Bomb expert said. He began to crawl his way out of the large bushes of the forest back towards a quieter area where no one would see or notice him.

He still couldn't get over the grief his lost arm and especially that blonde guy that really resembled the Jinchurikki. Sure, He had fought a lot of people that were very fast but this one was different. He had an elite speed and agility that he had never seen before. He never recovered from his attacks just because he was just too fast.

Deidara gritted his teeth in annoyance. He promised to himself that he would back stronger and he would get his revenge on him. It looked like he had finally found a worthy opponent to test out his skills and abilities as the greatest kinjutsu and bomb expert that had ever lived.

He wondered if that blonde fellow had siblings. If he had, then that sibling might be also strong as him.

By the time, He finally reached his destination. He slowly crawled out from the last bush and turned around expecting that no one will be waiting for him. However, the results were opposite. There was indeed a group of people who were waiting for him in the area.

 **"Where do you think you're going?"** a female voice entered h ears.

Deidara widened his eyes in shock as a group of Leaf shinobi greeted him by the time he turned around.

"Looks like you guys found me," he smirked. He wondered why this leaf shinobi just kept on coming. How many were there right now in this forest?

"It's over man, you just ran on to Team Gai, the mightiest team that ever is!" Might Gai confidently said. He was already taken his fighting stance and ready to kick some Akatsuki butt once more.

As for the rest of the team, Neji, Hanabi, and Himawari also prepared themselves for another fight. On the other hand, Deidara smiled. He could only give these people his sarcastic laugh.

"Looks like I won't be escaping anytime soon." Deidara said. He then quickly made his first move by unleashing shurikens at the group and they mostly evaded it. He then drew out his Kunai using his other hand as a means of self defense just in case they all attacked him.

Meanwhile, the rest of the team finally made their move and tried to engage the blonde man in a fight. Deidara, on the other hand, relied on his speed and wits as he looked for a way to escape. For the Bomb expert himself, it was not easy. He had to face the abilities of the team members one by one. He first encountered the leader of the team himself, Might Gai, who had already given him a hard time, with his high level Taijutsu.

Might Gai was a bit frustrated; somehow the man just kept evading every combo that he made against him. Was he really that fast and quick? In minimum time, the blonde man quickly made a distraction and he escaped the clutches of the Youth himself.

As Deidara made his way to escape again, he encountered the Hyuugas who were also bent on giving him justice. Although, this was already taking a toll on as he began to take some small damages from their attacks.

Himawari could only stand watch the small battle unfold right before her eyes. Her Aunt Hanabi had told her to stay in a safe spot so that she may not get hurt. She could only nod back and did what the latter told her to do. The lavender haired girl understood that she was just trying to protect her and of course she was her aunt. As she observed the ongoing battle, she noticed that the blonde man was just trying to escape and he was not in the mood to fight.

Himawari also noticed her Aunt and Uncle, who were fighting the man. She was amazed on how their fighting chemistry was blended perfectly. The combos and moves, it was pure teamwork.

 **"Eight Triagrams: Air Palm!** " Neji exclaimed.

He finally performed his final move by using one of his strong moves and sent the blonde man flying and crashing onto a tree.

Deidara cringed in pain as he crashed on the tree. He immediately recovered and then attempted for another escape. He summoned several small clay bombs in a form of small insect-like creatures towards the rest.

Mighty Gai's eyes widened with astonishment.

"Everybody watch out for the bombs!" he exclaimed. Everyone followed what he said and they jumped from their former position to avoid the small clay bombs that exploded in the air.

Deidara smiled as he made another attempt to escape again which he successfully did leaving the rest of the team behind.

On the other hand, Team 8 immediately recovered from the blast and they continued to pursue the man.

As the pursuit continued its way throughout the forest, Himawari found herself in a situation that she had never been before. Time was moving fast right now. They were fighting the man just awhile ago and now they were pursuing him throughout the forest.

Thoughts were running around the girl's head. They say that this man was a bomb expert and she was worried that he might set them explosive traps while they were still pursuing him at the moment.

As for Deidara, He had this one plan to end this once and for all. He then immediately made a hand sign to start his final plan.

* * *

 **-AT THE SAME TIME-**

As the day continued, the two blondes found themselves walking along the forest and back to towards the area where Kakashi temporary resided. Boruto found himself assisting a limping Naruto, who was physically and mentally drained.

It was all too quiet at the moment. Boruto observed his young dad who was looking down the entire time. He gave the latter a sad smile. Truth be told, he had never seen him in this state before. The Dad that he used to know was not like this. He was more alive and full of energy.

He really felt sorry for his young dad. He thought of ways on how to cheer him up or at least lift up his spirits and when he did find a solution, it somehow felt that it wasn't enough of for him.

Boruto sighed. This was more difficult than he had thought. How would he lift up his young dad into higher spirits? The blonde time traveler was a little disappointed on himself. If only he knew his dad, not as a parent but as a person, then he can finally figure out what to do with him.

Thoughts were also going around the time traveler's mind. He thought of his little sister and his Uchiha teammate. How were they? He hoped that they were alright. He sighed yet again. He wondered on how he was not going to over think himself yet again. As the unofficial breadwinner of this of the trio, he just could't help but worry about the two girls.

" **Boruto** " A familiar voice then interrupted his thoughts.

Boruto widened his as for a second there he thought that his actual dad from the future had said it. He turned and saw his young dad looking at him.

"Hey are you alright?" Boruto asked. That was the first thing that he said. He didn't expect his young dad will be talking this soon.

Naruto gave the young rookie a sad look. He felt that he was responsible for dragging him, his little sister and his friend into this mess.

"I'm sorry that you guys have to go through this." he said as he removed his mask and finally revealed his true self.

Boruto was surprised to hear this from his young dad. He could feel that sorrow and grief coming from the latter. He realized that this was in fact his young dad's true self. The "mask" that he was wearing all the time was just a disguise to show everyone that he was alright but in truth, he was a very different person from the start.

"I think that because of me and my actions, you guys have to experience this. You are just rookies and I should've acted more in guiding and protecting the rest of you" Naruto explained.

He really felt guilty and responsible for this. He was also tired of this mask that he wore for many years, the mask to cover his sorrow and loneliness.

"I guess that Tsunade baa-chan told you about my past and that I'm a Jinchurikki." Naruto said while the other only kept quiet. In fact he already knew that his dad was the holder of the Kyuubi No Youko and the Lady Hokage herself told him on how sensitive it was for Naruto to talk about it considering that he had bad past about it.

"It's alright that you can call me anything you want. I am already used to that." He explained. He was already used to the insults thrown at him by the villagers. He wondered if this rookie would think the same about him.

He would also go on to explain the reason on why he was so intent and serious about rescuing the red haired Kazekage was that because he was a Jinchurikki too and he shared the same experience and pain that he had to go through. In fact, He admitted that he had lost all hope of saving his friend because he was gone.

Boruto sighed but smiled

." It's alright, and I understood what you mean," he explained.

Naruto widened his eyes as he gave the blonde rookie a confused look. He wondered why he was staying positive throughout this whole messy situation that they're in. How would He understand what he had gone through? He wasn't even a Jinchurikki and he never experienced the pain that he felt.

Boruto sighed but he gave the young man a smile.

"Well If I were a Jinchurikki or if I ever had gone through a lot of pain, I would still continue and look at the positive side of things." He explained.

"What do you mean?" Naruto asked. He was even more confused now.

"There was this certain person that told me that if you want to succeed in life and overcome all this challenges then you'll have to stay strong and just believe that all things happening are for the greater good," Boruto explained. In fact it was old man that told him that way back.

"I know that you lost someone important today but if I were you, I would never lose hope and I would keep on believing that there will be a way to bring him back," he added.

Naruto stared at the rookie with surprised eyes yet again. He finally realized what he was telling him. Even though, this young kid was just a rookie, it felt like he had gone through a lot more than he did. He could see it in his eyes. Then he remembered what his pink haired teammate told him about the rookie's past.

"So tell me boy, how can I have this hope and faith that you have?" Naruto asked. He wondered if these two things would help bring back Gaara.

Boruto sighed yet again. He gave one more smile at the latter.

"Simple, Don't stop Believing."

* * *

 **-AWHILE LATER-**

Kakashi sighed as he rested his head on the tree yet again. Since he was out of Chakra, He had to stand up and helped carry the Kazekage and placed him on a nearby safe spot.

There was silence around the forest for the first time. He wondered what had happened to the blonde rookie. He was getting really worried for the young man. He only wished that he had the energy to help the latter but his chakra was fully drained because the fact that he had overused his sharingan.

He then darted his eyes to the young Kazekage. He was beginning to think that the team failed on this mission. All he could do right now was to worry about the others. Were they still fighting the two Akatsuki members?

As minutes passed by, He suddenly felt movement around the forest area. He immediately darted his eyes towards the spot where the giant clay bird was located. It suddenly began to move by itself until it finally stood up yet again and flew towards a certain direction.

"What's he up to now?" Kakashi asked himself. It looked like the man met the rest of the team.

* * *

 **(Interview)**

 **" Can't believe the guy was still moving, He should be too beaten up to move like that."**

 **-Kakashi**

* * *

"Kakashi-sensei!" A familiar voice called the white-haired, masked man's name.

He then looked up to see the blonde rookie along with his counterpart. Kakashi sighed in relief. The young man did succeed in bringing back his student to his normal non-jinchuriki state. Although, he wondered how he managed to beat the Kyuubi?

By the time, the two blondes arrived at the scene; the giant clay bird had left the scene leaving him alone in the area.

* * *

 **-MEANWHILE-**

The chase was almost reaching its climax. Everybody expected that this won't be an easy chase. The enemy had soon unleashed small clay bombs again to hinder their way. Explosions rocked the forest one more time because of those small bombs; the team had to dodge the bombs.

One by one they all got distracted by the bombs except for a certain Uzumaki girl who was the only one ahead and chasing the man.

Himawari dashed as fast she could just to catch up with the Akatsuki member. She was unaware that she was the only one pursuing him as the rest of the group were hindered by the small clay bombs.

In no time, A massive white bird made out of clay flew passed by her towards a certain area. By the time the lavender haired girl arrived at that certain area. She was greeted by the Akatsuki member who was standing right beside the giant clay bird and was just evilly smiling at her.

Himawari quickly positioned herself in her fighting stance. She expected that there would be a fight yet again so she had to ready herself once again.

"I'm not sure what you're going to do next but give up there's no way out for you," she warned.

On the other hand, Deidara just gave an evil chuckle. He was finally just one step ahead in executing his grand plan and he was going to make the young girl his first victim.

"Looks like you will be the first one to witness my grand art," he grinned. He was indeed excited for this.

Deidara then went to the giant clay bird and took a piece of it. He then put the piece of clay on his mouth and chewed it.

Himawari stood still and kept herself on guard. She wasn't sure what he was going to do but she was sure this was going to be bad and dangerous. The atmosphere was changing. She suddenly felt an urge to escape the place as soon as possible.

A few moments had passed and the man began to laugh. His body began to change and slowly morphed. He began to grew larger and larger by the second, as if he was about to explode like a ticking time bomb.

Himawari finally realized on what he was going to do. She immediately darted away from her former position and ran as fast she could to escape the scene. She could feel her heart beating faster. This was a race against time. Not too long, she suddenly heard loud explosion from behind and it was so powerful that it produced a powerful shockwave.

Her world began to slow down as she then turned behind to take a look of what was happening. She widened her eyes as she saw that the explosion was just a few distances away from her. She then suddenly stepped on something, tripped over and fell on the ground.

Her eyes then met the lone bright light of the explosion that was seconds away from engulfing her.

"Oh no!" Himawari muttered as she found herself on a death's doorstep. She closed her eyes. The only thing that she can do was to pray.

Unbeknownst to her, a certain raven haired man appeared stood on her way. Himawari widened her eyes as he recognized this person wearing the familiar Akatsuki cloak.

"Uncle Itachi," she whispered. It was Sarada's Uncle.

* * *

 **(Interview)**

 **"It was probably the most surprising and unexpected in this mission, Itachi-san suddenly appearing out of nowhere just to save you.**

 **-Himawari**

* * *

Itachi gave the lavender haired girl a smile as he turned his eyes towards the explosion. He briefly closed his eyes and then opened it again to reveal his Sharingan which began to morph and transform.

A few moments later, a large spiral void appeared in front of the man as the explosion was immediately absorbed through the void. Another few moments had passed, the bright light faded away and there was no trace of the explosion except for the strong wind then blew around the area.

Himawari stared in awe as she just witnessed the power of the Uchiha. She wondered if the raven haired teen had that ability as well.

"Are you alright?" The voice of Itachi then interrupted her thoughts as she then looked up to the man looking at her.

"Yeah, I thought I was going to die there for a second, but thank you for saving me," Himawari smiled. She never expected that the man would be here to save her.

Itachi's face formed a small smile. He didn't say a word but he gave the lavender haired girl a look that meant that everything was going to be alright now. He then quickly disappeared into thin air as it was revealed that he was only a projection of the real one.

Silence then took over right away. The battle was now officially over. Himawari stared at the site of the explosion as there was a small crater on the ground and the giant clay bird was nowhere to be found.

" **Himawari**!" a familiar voice then called her name.

The lavender haired teen then turned around to face her young Uncle and Aunt heading towards her with worried faces.

Hanabi was the first one to reach the young girl. She then briefly embraced the latter into a tight hug.

"Are you alright Hima? Did that blonde bastard hurt you?" she asked. She was indeed worried for her future niece. She also checked the girl to see if there were any signs of injuries or wounds and luckily, she was in one piece with just a few bruises.

"I'm fine Aunt Hanabi." Himawari smiled. She was just really surprised, how the two Hyuugas were that overprotective about her.

Same goes to Neji as his eyes were filled with rage. No would one dare to hurt his future niece. He was going to kick their butts if they did. He then decided to the area where the explosion happened along with Might Gai. By the time they made it to the scene, there was no trace of the enemy and the giant clay bird except for a large smoke that emitted from the small crater.

Himawari just stayed quiet. She wasn't sure on how she was going to explain the events that had transpired just awhile ago. Would they even believe that Itachi Uchiha was the one that saved her from the deadly explosion?

It was going to be an unbelievable testimony.

* * *

 **-AWHILE LATER-**

"When is he going to wake up?"

Tenten wondered. A couple of hours had passed and she was still carrying the unconscious the Bushy Brow while she traversed her way through the forest in hopes of finding a way out of here. Just awhile ago, she had received a message from her sensei instructing to go an open field somewhere around the forest.

She deduced that they finally succeeded on taking care of the Akatsuki bomb expert himself and the only thing that she could do now is meet them at an open field somewhere around the forest.

After another 30 minutes of searching, she finally stumbled upon a pathway which lead to the open field.

"Just my luck!" She exclaimed as she proceeded to head towards her final destination.

Along the way, Tenten began to feel irritated. She knew that this was going to be a really long walk and her body was now feeling numb. She had to admit that her bushy brow teammate was light to carry but it had been over two hours and half and she was getting tired of carrying him.

As she planned on stopping for awhile to rest on a nearby tree, her teammate suddenly opened his eyes and jolted up. Tenten was caught by surprised as she immediately dropped the widely awake teen to the ground.

Rock Lee had finally woken up.

"What the heck happened, Tenten? Where are you!?" he exclaimed as he looked around the area looking for his teammate.

"I'm right here Lee." Tenten could only sigh. First she was forced to carry him all the way here and now she found herself being jump scared by her own teammate which was not really funny.

"Tenten! Are you okay? Where are the rest?" Rock Lee was bombarding her with a lot of questions. Apparently, he was having a small case of momentarily amnesia. He coudn't remember what had happened before.

"Tenten! You must be tell me so that I would know what to do and-" He was about to finished his sentence when he was suddenly interrupted by the girl herself.

"Can you please be quiet Lee? There is something that I would like to tell- You know what? I'm just really tired right now." she was about to tell him something important but she just let it all go.

"Huh? Tired of what?" Rock Lee asked. He was dumbfounded.

"Tired of carrying you like a baby throughout this forest," Tenten simply said as she then turned around and continued her way towards the open field by herself.

Rock Lee blinked a couple of times before suddenly realizing that she was leaving him behind.

"Hey wait up!" He exclaimed as he instantly stood up from the ground to catch up with her.

By the time he took his first few steps, he again felt pain from his lower leg and saw that this certain leg was bandaged.

" Huh? Did I get injured?" Rock Lee questioned himself as he examined his bandaged leg.

Right at this moment, Rock Lee finally realized that he didn't know something. He was so surprised by this realization.

"I didn't know she was Medic-nin herself?"

Bushy brow exclaimed as he made a big deal out of it. Not knowing that his idiotic side had completely taken over.

* * *

 **(Interview)**

 **"I was actually dumbfounded and confused at that time, I just didn't know what had gotten into me, but still Youth will prevail!"**

 **-Rock Lee**

* * *

 **CHAPTER END**

 **AN: Thank you for reading the chapter**!


	29. Arc 2: Reconciliation

**Disclaimer:**

 **I don't own Naruto. Kishimoto Does.**

 **Author's note: Hey there Readers! I'm back with a new chapter! I hope you guys enjoy! I would also like to thank you guys for the reviews, favorites, and follows :) Thank you for also sharing your tips and thoughts for the story.**

 **Take note: Recently, The beta reader for this story will be very busy for awhile. So that means I will be alone on writing story. I'm just a beginner writer so please go easy on me whenever there is a mistake in the story.**

 **Take note 2: It had been a very busy week for me. There are a lot of activities from school especially group presentations. But on a good note, I was able to find the free time to write.**

 **Thank you for Understanding :)**

* * *

 **Arc 2**

 **Chapter 16: Reconciliation**

There was all nothing but silence throughout the whole time. The cold air breeze blew through every part in the forest causing the trees to rustle as a sign that the conflict was finally over. Cerulean blue eyes stared at a certain red head who was resting on a nearby tree.

Naruto took a deep breath to calm himself down. He just couldn't completely erase his own thoughts about his friend. All the good memories just kept on rewinding in his mind. He couldn't feel any emotion with the exception for sorrow.

It can be considered a day of mourning, at least for the blonde. The rescue mission was a success but had a bittersweet ending. No one could really predict the outcome of the mission. It solely depended on what the team could've done as they were just all in this together. As for Naruto, he could say that they already did all they could have to save the red head but was this really going to be the ending?

Then a positive thought entered his mind.

He recalled what the blonde rookie had said to him awhile ago, that was to not lose any hope and just keep on believing that all of these would have a better outcome. At first, he began to have doubts about it. He wondered how all this could end well?

Naruto sighed.

"I hope you're right kid," he muttered to himself.

He took another looked at his red haired friend. He really looked peaceful as if he had had finally gotten rest after a very rough day. He guessed that this is how death would feel like when the time would come. If he was really going to have the same fate as his friend then he hoped that it would be just like a quick and peaceful ending.

After a few minutes of silent mourning, Naruto stood up. He proceeded to summon a clone to assist him on carrying the young Kazekage back towards the other two.

At the same time, a certain blonde rookie had quietly watched the whole scene unfold. Boruto could only give his young dad a sad look. The teenage blonde could feel the sorrow and loneliness in the atmosphere.

After brief moment of mourning with the latter, he proceeded to help the white haired instructor of the team to recover from the ground.

" Are you alright, Kakashi-sensei?" He asked.

"Yes, I'm fine. It's just that I should've never exhausted myself to the point that I can't even stand on my own now." Kakashi slightly chuckled. He knew that this would be very difficult right now. He slightly cringed as he could feel the muscles aching throughout his body.

"You have to be careful sensei or you wouldn't want the mask to drop down on the ground." Boruto said, joking. He tried to lighten up the mood for a bit.

Kakashi chuckled.

"I guess you're right. No one wants to see what's beneath this mask." he said as he finally stood up from the ground while the rookie blonde acted as his support.

"Yup, just small tiny mole on the chin," Boruto thought to himself. He had actually seen the full face of his Uncle Kakashi back in the future. He realized that he was indeed the photographer himself.

As the rookie finally helped the latter recover from the ground, their view was suddenly blocked by Naruto, who was carrying the young Kazekage along with an assistant clone.

"So where are we off to now?" he asked.

"Well, I received a message from Gai." Kakashi spoke. He would go on to explain that there was a nearby open field somewhere around the forest. The good thing was that they only needed follow a pathway towards the field, which was the main road itself.

Naruto nodded in understanding.

"Understood, Kakashi-sensei." He just simply said.

Everyone was glad that there were no more battles to handle to right now. They were feeling a bit burnedout and exhausted about the whole ordeal. They immediately set out their journey towards the certain open field that they were told to go to. The open field would turn out to be everyone's meeting place.

As for Boruto, his thoughts directed to his little sister and raven haired teammate. He hoped that they were already in the meeting place in one piece.

* * *

 **(Interview)**

 **"With all the things going around right now, you just hope for your friends and loved ones to be alright.**

 **-Boruto**

* * *

- **MEANWHILE** -

It was a surreal moment for one pink haired teen. She took comfort from cold breeze of the wind and especially her pleasant green surroundings. She currently found herself and others in an open field somewhere in the forest. She thought that this could be the perfect place for the rest of the team meet up with.

Sakura took a deep breath to released all the tension that was building up inside. She was glad that everything was over. Rescue missions much like this were a big challenge and most of them would end up very badly. As for this mission, she considered it much the same but it somehow end up in the most unexpected way possible.

The pink haired Kunouchi then darted her eyes towards the raven haired rookie who was still in her sleeping state. She gave a smile of relief as she was glad that the girl hadn't sustain any serious injuries and was alright. There was this strange feeling that she was having around the rookie. It seemed that during the fight with Sasori, she felt this great sense of worry building up inside of her. It was an unexplainable thing as she didn't know the girl personally and she had just met her in this mission.

"Sarada," She muttered the rookie's name under her breath. The name itself sounded so familiar. She also wondered why her name was based on a "Salad". Whoever gave her that name, that certain person must really like salad to begin with.

She also wondered about the latter's background. Having solely heard the information from the Lady Hokage herself, she felt really sorry for the girl. It must've been hard for her to lose her whole family in that small village which was destroyed by raiders and bandits. But with such a past how could she stay in the positive side for a long period of time?

Lastly, she wondered about the girl's abilities. Yes, she was a rookie and newbie, but how did she manage to hold herself against an S rank nin just like Sasori? Let alone the fact that she was very much unaware the existence of the powerful Akatsuki organization. Plus was there something that she did to change the heart of the red haired puppeteer and single-handedly made him surrender to them. Just who was this girl?

* * *

 **(Interview)**

 **"I really can't say if Lady Tsunade placed an undercover S rank Shinobi in out team. She looked as if she was really a rookie.**

 **-Sakura**

* * *

Not too long, the raven haired girl began to wake up. She felt thather consciousness was coming back up. She slowly opened her eyes and only to be greeted by the sunlight which made her cringed for a bit.

"What happened?" she muttered.

Sakura, who was on her thoughts, immediately noticed the girl. She proceeded to aid her and assisted her on taking a seating position.

When she finally opened her eyes her vision was blurry, Sarada immediately thought of her glasses. She tried to look for it around her surroundings. Sakura, who had the glasses, quickly drew it from her back pack and offered back to the girl.

"Here are your glasses." Sakura simply said.

Sarada stared briefly at the pink haired Kunouichi before taking glasses from the girl's hands.

"Thank you" she said simply, as she placed her glasses back so that she can finally see the world around her clearly.

By the time her vision became clearer, The Uchiha girl widened her eyes as she found herself in a different place, which was an open field. She began to wonder how she got here. She recalled the ordeal back in the cave where she was fighting against the red haired puppeteer and then after that she became unconscious.

"Are you alright, Sarada?" the familiar voice of Sakura interrupted her thoughts.

"Yeah, I'm fine, what happened by the way?" she asked. She really had a lot of questions going around her mind.

Sakura gave the girl a smile. She would go on to explain that because of her the battle ended abruptly thus preventing more damage and casualties. The surprising part is that she managed to defeat the red haired puppeteer and made him surrender.

Sarada blinked a couple of times. She was just absorbing all these new information which was impossible to believe. She was even more shocked to hear that the red head himself volunteered to help carry her on a stretcher when she was still unconscious.

Sarada then moved her eyes and darted towards a certain direction where the red head was located. He was just sitting there on the grassy ground. She also noticed that elder Chiyo was also heading towards the man.

What could possibly happen next?

* * *

 **(INTERVIEW)**

 **"After going through all those things, I just hope everything is alright."**

 **-Sarada**

* * *

 **-MEANWHILE-**

Sasori took the time to be just himself as he sat down on the grassy ground of the open field. He gazed at the beautiful blue sky and along with the cold breeze of the wind; it seemed to be a perfect scenery at the moment.

"I never thought that it would be this beautiful." Sasori commented. The feelings started to show up. He felt amazed at what he was seeing. It had been a long time since he had been like this.

Thoughts were now going around the red head's mind. There was feeling of relief that he felt. A sense of freedom, as if he was released from this cage that had trapped him for a long time. He suddenly felt being reborn again into his old self. He thought about the message that the raven haired girl passed onto him. The message about that there is still hope for him to change into a better person.

If there is really for hope for him to change, then will the sand village accept him back? Will his grandmother forgive him for the atrocities that he committed back when he was still a member of the organization? There were still doubts yet to be cleared.

"Sasori?" familiar voice then called his name. The red head then turned around to face his grandmother who was giving him a warm smile.

Chiyo stood there waiting for her grandson's response. She had to admit that she was a bit nervous on engaging a conversation with him. There was this little awkwardness that she felt and she was already wondering what had made him change heart and willingly surrender. Was this really her grandson?

"Obaa-chan?" Sasori simply said. He gave his grandmother a warm smile like any grandchild would give to his grandmother.

Lady Chiyo was kind of shocked to hear that from her grandson. It had been years since she heard him call her by that term. In fact, she was really touched by the time he said that. A few moments later, there was this round of emotions that began to build up inside of her. Not too soon, tears began to fall from her eyes as that emotion finally took over her.

Sasori was caught by surprised as he was suddenly pulled into a tight and warmed embrace by his grandmother. He could hear her sobbing on his shoulders. At the same time, returned the hug back. For the first time ever, his emotions were finally out after so many years.

"Sasori," These were the only word that she could let out in the midst of her emotions. She dearly missed her grandson. She still loved him as a family for all these years.

As for the red headed puppeteer himself, he never felt so much love before. He finally realized that for all these years since he was child, there was this one person that really loved him. His grandmother, Chiyo.

* * *

 **-MEANWHILE-**

Sarada and Sakura were secretly watching the whole scene unfold. They were very much surprised on how it turned out. It seemed that a heartwarming reunion was taking place right before their eyes.

Sakura felt touched by the scene and had a tear fell from her eye. The pink haired girl never knew that such things would happen on a good note just like this. Whoever knew that Lady Chiyo would be finally reunited with her grandson and reconcile with him.

Oh how she wished that this would happen to her team, especially if Sasuke ever came back to the village.

As for Sarada, the raven haired teen just smiled. She really loved reunions to be honest, especially if those certain people haven't met in years. She also had to secretly let go some of her emotions. She didn't want to be an emotionless puppet

Silence had yet again taken over. As the heartfelt reunion continued, it was then again broken by two certain people.

 _ **"Please Tenten! Let me explain**_!" the voice of a familiar person could be heard all over the place.

 _ **"For the last time, I won't be talking to you Lee**_!" the voice of female person spoke this time.

The two girls then turned around to face Bushy Brow and Tenten, who was on an ongoing argument. It seemed that the brown haired girl was trying to not talk to him while the other pleaded for her listen to his explanation.

Both Sakura and Sarada sighed. It looked like those two were alright and safe. Now they have to wait for the others to come here.

* * *

 **-BACK WITH CHIYO AND SASORI-**

"I really don't understand Sasori, what made you want to help us?"

Lady Chiyo had gotten straight to the point. She had a lot of questions running around her mind. She wanted to get the bigger picture on the reason why her grandson had a change of heart. Who or what made him realized about it.

Sasori simply smiled. He knew what to tell his grandmother. He was going to tell her the whole truth about what had happened and what made him realized that there was still hope for him to change into a better person. He would go on to explained that this certain raven haired girl was the one responsible for changing him and with just one smile of encouragement, it really opened his eyes to a bigger picture.

The elder puppeteer was surprised and shocked to hear this revelation coming from her grandson. To see a person with hardened heart can be somehow changed by a certain person, who had a positive outlook in life, was really a surprising thing. Chiyo then briefly glanced back to see that the girl was now awake from her slumber.

"What an interesting girl," Chiyo muttered. She had a feeling that this girl is very special and that she would somehow play a bigger role in the future.

"Obaa-chan?" her thoughts were then interrupted yet again by the latter.

"Yes, Sasori?" she said.

Sasori took a deep breath. He knew that he committed a lot of bad things but this was the only way that he could finally let go of everything including his past and the main thing that he was looking for was forgiveness.

"I'm sorry for all the things that I've done, I'm sorry that I wasn't the good grandson that you have," he apologized sincerely. His lowered his pride and confidence as he finally revealed his true self.

He also told the latter information that she didn't know. He finally admitted that he was the one responsible for the third Kazekage's disappearance and he really turned him into one of his own creations. He also told the reason on why left the sand village. To pursue his own ambitions that were deemed as selfish.

Chiyo felt a little bit of pain inside her when she heard the big truths that her grandson was revealing. Her doubts were now clear about the reasons of him leaving the village. She was beginning to blame herself for not taking care of her grandson when he was child. She left him in a situation where the latter had no one to go to.

"I also wanted to apologize to you for not being there all the time. I am maybe the worst grandmother!" Chiyo said. She explained her side of the story that she blamed herself for not looking after the latter when he was child years ago.

Sasori just simply smiled. He then placed a hand on the elder's shoulder. Everyone has its own faults, no one was perfect being.

"It's alright Obaa-chan, I forgive you." he said simply.

Chiyo took a sigh of relief. She could finally breath normally. The burdens of the past were also removed from her.

"Thank you, and I forgive you too." she said.

"Will the sand village accept me back?" Sasori asked.

Chiyo gave the latter a serious look. Since he was an S rank criminal, then he will have to go through the long process of trials, serving jail time and interrogations. But she assured him that she will be there to guide him throughout.

Sasori nodded.

"I understand." he said. He was ready for any process that he is placed into once gets there.

As for Chiyo, she would do her best to help her grandson. The only thing that she was worried about is that she doesn't have enough time. She was old and was just waiting for Kami's sign to take her away. She needed to make the entire time as valuable as possible.

There was this feeling that she might not make it. She thought of the Kazekage. If he really was gone then she had no choice but to do it. This was the only way to atone for her sin of sealing the beast inside the young man many years back.

"Sasori.=," She called her grandson once again who immediately caught her attention.

"If I won't make it, promise me that you would continue to keep the legacy alive."

* * *

 **-MEANWHILE-**

Tenten and Rock Lee couldn't believe their eyes. This was the first time they've heard that an Akatsuki member willingly surrendered and even cooperated with the rest. When they learned that one certain raven haired rookie was the one responsible for the entire conclusion, they were pretty impressed.

As for Sarada, She was pretty much busy on contacting her blonde teammate and Himawari through the walkie talkie. They hadn't been answering her calls except for Himawari's group, who told her that they were on their way.

Several minutes had passed, to second group finally arrived at the scene. They were obviously exhausted and battered from their journey. The first thing that Sarada did was to finally reunite with the lavender haired teen.

"Hima, are you alright?" Sarada asked by the time everything had settled down.

Himawari nodded.

"Yes, Sarada-nee! Where is Nii-chan by the way?" She asked.

Sarada sighed.

"That's what I was going to asked." she explained.

"Have you tried to contact him through the walkie?" She added.

Himawari shook her head.

"Well, I tried but he wouldn't answer." She explained. All could she could hear was static.

Sarada was confused. What could've happened to him? She was really getting worried right now.

* * *

 **-WITH BORUTO-**

The journey through the forest was very much uneventful. Silence was the one in charge of it all. No one said a word. They were all pretty much exhausted from the whole ordeal that happened awhile ago. They found themselves heading towards the final meeting place in one piece.

As for Boruto, his mind was very much alive. While he was assisting the exhausted Kakashi, He also kept observing his young dad who was busy supporting his red haired friend along with a single clone. The blonde teenager gave a sad look.

"Kakashi-sensei?" he whispered to the white haired man whom he was assisting at the moment.

"Yes what is it kid?" Kakashi replied.

"I just wanted to ask this. Why do you think Naruto cares so much about the Kazekage not as a friend but something more important to his life?" he straightforwardly asked. He wanted to know more information about his young dad's relationship with the Kazekage.

Kakashi sighed.

"Well it's really a very long story but let's just say that both of them host the tailed beast inside of them," he said. He would go on to explain that the two were enemies back then and Naruto himself, brought the red head back from the brink of insanity.

Boruto was just wide eye listening. He again was receiving all these stories that his old man never told him back home. In fact, he was told that all Jinchurikkis would have that kind of life. Luckily for Naruto, he realized that there were these people that really cared for him and he was not completely fallen of the darkness.

"I suggest that you guys should get to know him more. He is in fact a good person to be honest," Kakashi explained. His student was not that scary as many rumors said. Some worthless people are just spreading some false news to make a bad image of him.

Boruto smiled.

"Thanks for telling me sensei, My little sister is actually excited to be friends with him," he said.

"Oh you mean Miss Himawari?" Kakashi asked while the other just simply nodded.

"Oh yes! She is the happiest girl I've ever seen," he added. He had to admit that he had never seen the girl get angry or cried. She was really indeed the most positive type of person that he'd ever seen.

Boruto then darted his eyes back towards his young dad. He just hoped that there would still be a way for his friend to be brought back. Sure, everyone would say that there is no hope of bringing him back. Although, for him, he still believed that everything would end in a good note.

* * *

 **-AWHILE LATER-**

Not too long, the last group finally arrived at the meeting place. Everyone rushed to their aid and did whatever they can to help the guys. Sarada and Himawari were the most worried as they quickly rushed to the blonde to help him assist the older jounin.

"Are you alright?" Sarada worriedly asked. She immediately checked her teammate for any signs of injuries or damage but luckily he was in one piece.

Boruto was about to say something when he was suddenly hugged by his little sister.

"Nii-chan! I'm so glad you're alright, we were so worried about you!" Himawari exclaimed. She really missed her big brother since they got separated awhile back.

"Yeah I missed you too Hima, but you're really squeezing the heck out of me," Boruto gave away all his breath just to tell the latter to stop hugging him.

"Oops! Sorry about that. Hehe," Himawari apologized. She was scratching the back of her head and grinning all the way. She really earned her reputation as the monster hugger.

Sarada just shook her head.

" Oh you two." She commented. The Uzumaki siblings were really the goofiest and happiest brother and sister she had ever seen in her life.

As the reunion came into full swing. Neji and Hanabi also joined the scene followed by the rest of Team 8. For at least a brief moment, there were a couple of laughters to be heard, the loudest of all of them were from Might Gai himself.

Naruto secretly observed them. He gave a smile as he was glad that all of them were alright. For a brief moment, he could feel the warmth and peace that he was looking for but as he then turned around, all of that vanished in an instant.

He first looked at the elder Chiyo and Sasori, he was caught by surprise then by the time he saw the former Akatsuki member, he then tried to question why he was here but the elder puppeteer just simply explained to him that he willingly surrendered. Naruto nodded and understood what the latter explained to him.

He then observed his pink haired teammate who was checking the red head for any signs of life. He really hoped there was a way to bring him back. By the time, his pink haired teammate finished checking him; she gave the blonde a sad looked indicating that it was too late. There was nothing that she could do.

The atmosphere then took a sudden turn. The wind grew blew strong. The others immediately felt the presence and turned around to face the teen who slumped down on his knees.

Naruto silently cried. He was not crying because of the emotions but he was crying because everything was now over and his friend was finally rescued from the Akatsuki. If he was really gone, then he could only wish that he would have peace now.

Boruto and Himawari stood there and watched their young father. The siblings immediately went to the latter. They tried their best to comfort their dad as possible. Himawari felt the sorrow as she gave her young dad a warm embrace.

On the other hand, Boruto could only watched, if he only had the power to bring things back but the sad truth of it all is that there's nothing he can do about it. Although, He still kept his faith up. He still kept believing that there was still a way.

Moments had passed as silence had taken over the surroundings. Everyone was silent. They were all mourning with the blonde teenager. As everything seemed to be over, a very unlikely person headed towards to the spot where the Kazekage rested.

Boruto widened his eyes in surprised as he noticed that Lady Chiyo slowly walked passed by the others towards to his young dad's side.

By the time she finally arrived at the spot. She then knelt down next to the Kazekage and in front of a silent Naruto, who gave her a surprised face.

Lady Chiyo smiled.

"Even though I'm at in this current stage of my life, there are things that still baffled me to this day," The elder puppeteer said. She then placed both of her hand on the Kazekage's chest.

"I always thought that during my younger days times were better than they are now. Although, I realized that this generation would achieve greater peace and progress that we've dreamed of since," She explained. Moments later, her hands glowed emitting Chakra on the red head's chest.

Naruto, who noticed the glowing chakra instinctively placed his hands together with the latter's and the glowing chakra immediately glowed brighter than before.

Chiyo just simply sighed. She then turned her eyes towards the blonde teenager. She remembered on what the white haired Jounin had told her about him, his dreams of being the leader of his village someday and a goal of changing the world.

"This power of yours that Kakashi spoke of is special. It will change the future," She explained.

As for the time travelling trio, they completely agreed with the latter. That power will really changed and make the world a better place.

As moments passed, Chiyo knew that her time was almost coming to an end.

"Though these will be the final hours of my life, at least I did something right," She explained.

"I believed that the sand village may need a young promising leader that will lead them towards the future," Chiyo added. She then raised her head up and observed the rest.

"Thank you for giving me this experience. It changed my views and made me into a better person," She thanked the rest. She then turned her eyes towards the pink haired girl and gave her a nod.

"As for you my dear child, you will help a lot of people in the future." Chiyo added. She meant for the girl to never give up no matter what.

As her time finally neared, she took one last looked at her grandson. She gave the red head a warm farewell smile.

"Sasori, promise me that you will guide the next generation," She said.

"I will," Sasori nodded. He was going to this promise.

Chiyo smiled.

"I will always be there to watching over you. Remember grandma Loves you!"

Sasori on the other hand, tried to keep his emotions but slowly the tears flowed from his eyes.

"Obaa-chan," he could only mutter the word.

With all said and done, Chiyo looked up and gazed at the blue sky. She then closed her eyes took one last deep breath and smiled.

"I wonder what heaven will be like."

* * *

 **(Interview)**

 **"Well, there's nothing I could do but just to give this young man a new life. I had my life and it's their turn to lead towards a better future.**

 **-Chiyo**

* * *

 **CHAPTER ENDS**

 **AN: Thank you for reading the chapter**!


	30. Arc 2: Bittersweet

**Disclaimer:**

 **I don't own Naruto. Kishimoto Does.**

 **Author's note: Hey there Readers! I'm back with a new chapter! I Hope you guys enjoy! I would also like to thank you guys for the reviews, favorites, and follows :) Thank you for also sharing your tips and thoughts for the story.**

 **Take note: Recently, The beta reader for this story will be very busy for awhile. So that means I will be alone on writing story. I'm just a beginner writer so please go easy on me whenever there is a mistake in the story.**

 **Take note 2: Recently, I have been having a writer's block, Its really difficult when nothing is coming out from your mind. Although, A fellow friend gave me some tips on how to regained my mind back and as a result I am back with a new chapter. I also started to implement a little of the original ideas I had been planning for the story since the beginning.**

 **One more thing, this chapter is quite short. I had a very busy weekend so I had little time to write but somehow I managed to finish it.**

* * *

 **Arc 2:**

 **Chapter 17: Bittersweet**

It was the most peaceful feeling that he could've ever felt in his whole life. Gaara had never felt so much peace and calmness before. It was like that from now on, he would never feel the pain and loneliness that was haunting him since the beginning. He felt like floating in an endless void and just staring at the blank dark space.

His mind was as blank as an empty can. All of his thoughts, both positive and negative were nowhere to be found. He felt like a lost soul that preferred to be stuck in limbo just so that he couldn't be with the real world anymore,.

Gaara was reluctant. If this how his life will be from now on, then he would just take the opportunity and stay here for as long as he was allowed to. he didn't want to think about any other things besides letting himself free from everything.

"Did I live up to everyone's expectations?" he thought to himself. He doubted his ability to protect his loved ones. Was he enough for them and the village? Did the village really support him throughout his tenure as the Kazekage? Did they really accept him as their own? Or was it just all pure fantasy?

There so many doubts and questions. He felt like a lost little child that couldn't distinguish right from wrong. He began to wonder on why he was born into this world. Was it just to experience a painful and lonely life? Why did he never get to experienced the love that everyone has?

Was he just destined to lived and end his life in this kind of way?

A few moments later, the young man suddenly felt a presence surrounding him. It was somehow mysterious but benevolent at the same time. He observed this presence which was revealed before his eyes. It was a kind of blue greenish ethereal form of substance or energy that appeared in a fluid stream. It was surrounding and nearing towards him.

Gaara didn't panic whatsoever, He just stared at this mysterious energy as it headed closer to him. He was just mesmerized and even tried to reach out for it. A few moments later, the ethereal stream had came in contact with the latter and surrounded him fully. The red head closed his eyes again and let himself fully enveloped by the stream.

In his mind, He began to dive into his deepest memories and what came out of it was a certain someone, someone that he knew but had never met in person before. The memories took him further and he found himself in a hospital room. The red head widened his eyes as he stared at a much younger version of himself, a newborn toddler and right beside him was a young woman, who was cradling the infant version of himself. She appeared to be weak as if she was holding the infant for the last time.

Gaara tried to get close to the two but he was then taken away by an unknown force as his world began to change once more. A bright light has suddenly engulfed him and sometime later, the young Kazekage opened his eyes and he found himself standing in a place that was very unfamiliar to him.

He described the place as a beautiful garden accompanied by small river flowing which he was standing in front of right now. Beside the river, there was a young woman; She had shoulder-length, sandy-brown hair which framed her kind-looking face, and indigo-colored eyes. She wore a simple outfit along with a long, light yellow scarf draped loosely around her neck. She just stood there and watched the peaceful flow of the river.

Gaara was bewildered. This was the same young woman who he had just awhile ago and right before he arrived in this place. As curiosity got the best of him, He then took several steps and headed towards the spot where young woman was located. By the time he had arrived at the said spot, the young woman had already noticed him and gave him a smile.

A bewildered Gaara just stared at the latter. He finally realized that this person was none other than his mother. She looked very much alive in her prime, far different from the dying person which he had seen in his earliest memories before.

"You know, the desert wasn't always this sandy place. It used to have small places much like this," Karura explained.

Gaara was just silent. He was in fact speechless and a bit shy to have a conversation with his mother. This was the first time that he had met her in person. He tried to open his mouth to say a few words but he just wasn't able to do so.

"I always dreamed of taking you, Temari and Kankuro to one of these places, but I'm not sure if these places even exist nowadays," she chuckled and explained. In fact there were indeed several small oases that existed in their land during her time.

"An Oasis," he muttered. He let out his first words. He recalled seeing one of those places from a distance during his travels.

"Although your father was a grumpy one, he was always busy with his work wasn't he?" she added. She often remembered her husband as this busy man who had no time for the family.

Gaara gave a face when his father came into his thoughts. He never had really good memories about him. He wasn't even close to him as father and son. They never even talked for once. He could only remember the time he spent alone on the rooftop of a lonely building while watching the other kids bond with their families.

As the emotions began to resurface, Tears were finally flowing from the teenager's eyes. Gaara slowly began to sob quietly. His mother, who finally fully turned around to face him, pulled him into a warm embraced.

Gaara cried like a little boy in his mother's shoulders. Even though, He had never gotten to know his mom, He felt as if He had known her for a long time and he dearly needed her in his life right now.

"Okaa-san," Gaara said his only word right now. How he wished that his mom was still alive.

On the other hand, Karura could only comfort her son. She too cried with him but she kept her smile up as she comforted her son. She felt sad for him on what he had to go through all these years. She also missed him and this was her first time seeing him now as a grown up teenager.

"Everything is going to be alright, honey," she said as she stroked the back of her son to calm him down.

"I just wished that you were still here. Why did you have to leave?" Gaara said as he finally let all his emotions out. He asked his mom why she had to leave this world earlier. If she didn't left then He wouldn't have experienced all the pain that he had to go through.

Karura could only give the latter a sad smile. She held her son's cheeks and stroked both of it in a gentle manner.

"Oh how I wish could've stayed to watch you over," she said. Truly, she really wanted to see her son grew up to the person that she wanted him to be. She was really glad that she could finally meet him for this only time.

"I'm sorry that I wasn't there when you needed me the most. I'm sorry I didn't get to spend enough time with you," she apologized to her son. She really wanted to be with her family especially with her youngest son.

"But, I'm really glad that I was finally able to meet you, at least for a little time," She added. She was very pleased to be given this opportunity to meet her youngest son and she knew that this reunion was going to end soon.

"It's not your time yet," she said with a little smile.

"I want to stay here with you." Gaara said. He just wished that he could stay here and spend time here with his mom.

Karura shook her head and smiled.

"I understand Gaara, but you have to go back. The village needs a leader, someone who can lead them," she said. She would go on to explain that without him, the village would never see the bright of day.

Gaara kept silent. He immediately remembered his friends and remaining family who still loved him. He began to wonder on what had become of them since he had been gone for this long time. What about his village who was lost and needed a person to lead them. He realized that not all seemed alright back home. He still had a lot of work to do. It was his destiny to be the leader of the village.

The meeting between mother and son was slowly coming to an end. It was considered as short-lived. Soon, Gaara's world began to change. He felt like he was being pulled back to the world of reality. He then took one last looked at his mother, who gave a smile at him. The red head smiled back, he was going to remember this meeting for the rest of his life.

Karura knew that her time was up and she had to let her son go back to the living world. There was this growing sense of alertness. This was the only place that she could meet him because it was the safest that she knew apart from the others. She darted her eyes to her surroundings and she sighed in relief as there were no suspicious eyes watching them.

Gaara immediately noticed the worried face of his mother. He was about to asked on what was bothering her when she just gave him a serious looked.

"Please listen to me, Gaara," she looked at her son straight in the eye.

"There are things that everyone is not aware off, you have to be careful from now on, please tell your friends," She warned the latter. She would go on to explain that both worlds, Spirit and Living were in a path to danger.

Gaara, on the other hand was much more confused. What was his mom telling him? Didn't she mean that not all in the afterlife seemed to be what they had been told about?

Gaara was about to reach out to his mother when he was suddenly whisked away. The oasis garden-like place faded away before his eyes. His mother was not in sight, there was only darkness yet again that greeted him.

The young Kazekage felt as if he was falling away yet again. It seemed to be a never-ending fall. A presence was then felt again, Gaara then noticed that the mysterious stream of energy was beside him again, he then felt peace and comfort once again as the stream of substance fully enveloped him.

* * *

 **(RETURNED)**

The next thing knew there was a bright light that flashed before his eyes. He began to hear familiar voices calling his name. Not too long, the light died down and there was blackness yet again. But he could finally feel his surroundings once more.

Gaara suddenly opened his eyes wide as he found himself breathing once more. His vision was still blurry as a result of the sudden surged of life force that went through his body as if he was electrocuted in the heart a hundred times. His body was shaking because of the effects as he tried rise up.

" **Hey Be careful, You can't just easily stand up Gaara** ," A familiar voice told him.

The young Kazekage immediately recognized the voice which was none other hand from an old friend from the leaf village, Naruto Uzumaki.

A few moments passed, his vision became clearer. He found himself in an open field surrounded by several people. He blinked a couple of times as he wondered what they were doing here and how did he had gotten here in the first place.

"What happened?" he blurted out his first words. He then surveyed his surroundings and further discovered that these people that were surrounding him were from the leaf village. He then took a look to his left side and saw a familiar face smiling at him.

"Naruto?" He muttered aloud. What was the blonde doing here? Why was he here?

Naruto could only sigh in relief as he greeted his friend, who was has been brought back from death itself.

"You really had me worried there brother." He said.

Gaara just stared at him with surprised eyes. All the memories instantly returned back to him and he can now remember what happened to him that he was defeated and captured when he was protecting the village from the Akatsuki.

Naruto would then go on to explain that the leaf village had sent a rescue team after his capture. He was then taken to the Akatsuki hideout and had the one tailed beast, Shukaku extracted from him, resulting in his temporary death.

Gaara nodded in understanding. Although a thought came into his mind, how did he come back from the dead? There must've been a reasonable explanation for this. When he asked the blonde on what happened after that, the latter only gave him a sad smile.

"Lady Chiyo was the one responsible but she gave up her life just to bring you back here," the blonde teenager explained. He then directed the latter to a certain direction.

"Lady Chiyo is gone?" Gaara was loss for words. He was shocked to hear this revelation. She was one of the village's respectable and strongest shinobi. He then darted his eyes towards the direction that the blonde was looking.

The red head couldn't believe what he saw as he found himself looking at a sad site. There at a certain spot stood lay the peacefully "Sleeping" elder puppeteer. She was also being cradled by the pink haired girl herself.

"Oh no," Gaara muttered under his breath. He slowly got up from the ground while the blonde assisted him. Even though, he was in this weak state, he needed to pay his respect to the latter.

Sakura silently cried. She held the elder puppeteer in her arms. Tears were flowing from her eyes. All of the emotions were coming out. She felt as if she had lost a loved one. Indeed, the pink haired girl looked up to the latter as a role model and an inspiration.

She recalled the advice and words that the elder had given to her and she wouldn't forget it for the rest of her life. She then felt a presence heading towards her. The pink haired teen then looked up and saw the Kazakage slowly walking towards her.

By the time the latter reached the spot, He stopped his tracks and stood in front of the peaceful sleeping elder. He took a deep breath and then bowed down as a sign of him giving his respect and thanking the elder for saving his life.

"Thank you for everything Lady Chiyo," Gaara said as a tear fell from his eye.

He then remembered that the elder puppeteer herself has used a forbidden jutsu which was known as "Kinshi Tensei" which if used a by a person, the life force of the person will be transferred to another one. Hence, that was why she was able to bring him back to life.

As the time passed by, the time travelling trio were witnessing a part of the history unfold before their eyes. This was the whole rescue mission and they were part of it.

Sarada thought of this as lesson and an experience that they needed to learn from. It wasn't just the goal of rescuing the Kazekage but it was a way on how they would handle different situations if they were suddenly placed into them. It's not just about fighting and showing the skills but it also involves on learning a person's past and how would they helped the person changed for the better.

As for the lavender haired teen, Himawari thought of this rescue mission as an opportunity to help them become stronger. She realized that this was going to be the first of many missions that will come in the near future. This rescue mission has helped them regained their edge as a Shinobi after a long while of resting

As for Boruto, the teenage blonde felt that there was more than meets the eye. He thought that there was a reason on why they were sent here in the past. From here on, the blonde vowed to himself that he will find out that reason and purpose.

* * *

 **(Interview)**

 **"Being in the past thought me how to look into people's situations and finding a way to help them rather than engage them in a fight to the death.**

 **-Sarada**

 **" I haven't had the proper training as a Shinobi and this experience will help me to further improve my abilties.**

 **-Himawari**

 **"There was a reason, I just had that feeling since the beginning.**

 **-Boruto**

* * *

 **(DEPARTURE)**

Not too long, everyone had decided that it was time leave for home. The rescue mission was considered a success although they lost a very important person, in the form of Lady Chiyo, who had given her life to save the Kazekage. Her body was placed on human-size bag and was carried on a stretcher by her grandson and a makeshift puppet that he immediately summoned.

As the journey started, a still weakened Gaara was supported by his blonde friend, while an exhausted Kakashi was being carried by Mighty Gai. It was going to be a long journey from here.

As for the time travelling trio, Himawari found herself in the company of her young Aunt and Uncle, who had decided to help her cope with the situation. Sarada went with her young mother to provide her with emotional comfort.

As for Boruto, He took the time spend with his thoughts as he also set out with the rest back towards the sand village. He began to think about the time when his Uchiha teammate fought with the Akatsuki member, Kisame, when the Jougan had seen something unusual.

The blonde stopped his tracks; his Jougan was then suddenly activated. He also felt the same presence from a few distances away. He turned to face that presence and fully came to see something that he couldn't explain. It was the same white hooded human figure from before and it was somehow secretly watching and observing them from a far.

Boruto was puzzled and curious. He attempted to head towards where the human figure was located for further investigation but was unable to do so.

"Nii-chan!" the voice of his little sister called him.

Boruto turned around to face his little sister who was giving him a confused look.

"What are you doing? We're about to leave you, ya know?" Himawari explained. She told the latter that the rest of everyone had taken off while He was still here and not catching off.

"Yeah, I'll be there Hima!" Boruto said. He then turned once again only to face nothing. There was no trace of the white cloaked human figure as if it hadn't been there in the first place.

Boruto narrowed his eyes. There was indeed something more mysterious to this. He had never seen something like this before. Who or what was that cloaked figured? Was it even human to begin with? How come it was just standing there and closely watching?

What was its purpose here?

The journey to the sand village was a long way to go. The mission was finally accomplished. It saw an exhausted and weary band of Shinobi that were able to rescue the Kazekage from the hands of the enemies. It had been successful but it still had a bittersweet ending to it.

The lost of Lady Chiyo was big blow to the village and the extraction of the one tailed beast, Shukaku saw progress from the Akatsuki's main plan to collect the entire powerful tailed beast. However, in contrast to that, they managed to defeat and capture former organization member, Sasori of the Red sand, which meant that he had classified information and secrets which no one was aware of.

Mysteries and revelations were also revealed. For instance, in the case of Gaara, When He was in his temporary death, his soul somehow travelled to afterlife and was able to meet his mother, who he had never met in person before. Both mystery and revelation came afterwards when she revealed that everything was not what it seemed to be and she told him about an ongoing conspiracy which involved the human world and spirit world.

This also confused the young Kazekage as it fueled more questions than answers. He was determined to know more about on what was happening and what this bigger conspiracy all about. He also noticed that when he was talking to his mother, she was a bit cautious as she occasionally looking around their surroundings. She was a spirit and she wouldn't be acting like that since she was in the afterlife.

"Hey man," his thoughts were suddenly interrupted by none other than the blonde himself.

"Are you alright?" Naruto asked. He noticed that the latter was deep in his thoughts was serious.

Gaara shook his head.

"Yes, I'm fine; I'm just tired that's all," he explained.

Naruto smiled.

"Don't worry; we'll be at the sand village soon," he said.

Gaara smiled back. He was thankful for the blonde to really risk his life just to save him. Since he contained the Kyuubi No Youku within him, The young Kazekage can't helped but worry about him. There are many enemies on the moved attempting to get the power that the latter had.

They were going to have to be a little extra careful now.

Not too long, the crew had reached the country side that led to the desert itself. The day had finally entered its afternoon stage. There was ongoing silence that ran through the rest of the group. Neither all of them said a word since they were all exhausted.

Boruto gazed at the sun that was about to set anytime soon. He was still thinking about the mysterious White cloaked human figure that was watching and observing them in secret. He wondered where that mysterious person came from and whose side was he/she on.

A thought then came into his mind. He recalled on how his little sister told him about the enemies that she saw during the destruction of their home back in the future. He recalled her telling him that the enemies that she saw donned white cloaked figures.

Boruto widened his eyes in realization. Could those people be the one responsible for destroying their home besides Kawaki? Why was his Jougan reacting every time those mysterious cloaked figures appeared? Could there be some kind of connection? He knew that his Jougan could detect things out of the ordinary and he wondered if those cloaked figures or whatever it's called were even human.

There was a lot of question going around his mind. He felt that soon enough all of the truth will be revealed. He still knew that the threat from the future, in the form of his adopted brother Kawaki had not faded away.

Boruto then darted his eyes to the people around him, especially his little sister and Uchiha teammate. He realized that he was going to have a bigger role in protecting them in the future. He just wasn't sure of what was in store for them but he had to be ready for sure.

Perhaps, the figures were just an unexpected small piece that came into a bigger picture.

 **CHAPTER ENDS**

* * *

 **AN: Thank you very much for reading the chapter :)**


	31. Arc 2: Calm After The Storm

**I don't own Naruto. Kishimoto Does.**

 **Author's note: Hey there Readers!, I'm back with a new chapter! I Hope you guys enjoy! I would also like to thank you guys for the Reviews. Favorites, and follows :) Thank you for also sharing your tips and thoughts for the story** **.**

 **One more thing, This chapter is quite short. I had a very busy weekend so I had little time to write but somehow I managed to finished it.**

 **Thank you for Understanding :)**

 **Expect Grammar and Spelling mistakes**

 **P.S: I am just newbie so go easy on me**

* * *

 **Arc 2 :**

 **Chapter 18: Calm After The Storm**

 _ **Morning of January 27 (Two days after the group successfully rescued the Kazekage).**_

It was beautiful early morning. The sun was still rising and as its rays shined all over the village of the sand. The citizens of the village were just preparing to start the day and do their business as usual as some shops were already opened.

On one particular cafe shop, which was situated on one the sand village's busy streets, A certain blonde teenager sat down on one of the many seats of the cafe shop waiting for his little sister, whom was ordering the breakfast meal.

Boruto slightly yawned. He was feeling a bit sleepy because his little sister was the most morning person that He had ever seen. Of course, the blonde himself woke up his butt off every morning back at the leaf village but right now, He preferred to be sleeping in the bed back at the Hotel.

"Man, If I only brought my pillow." Boruto sighed. All the things surrounding him were fueling his sleepiness. From the peaceful atmosphere of the place to the relaxing music that was playing through the speakers. It was just to overwhelming.

He attempted to fight his sleepiness as He forced his eyes to remain open. It was kind of tough actually but he managed to passed the test eventually. He then began allowing thoughts to enter his mind. He recalled what had happened for the last several days. He couldn't believed that all of that was finally over like it just happened in one day.

He then recalled the time when the whole team arrived at the village gates and they were greeted by a huge crowd waiting and cheering for them as heroes because they successfully rescued the Kazekage. Boruto smiled. The moment was kind of surreal for him because He had never been into that kind of situation where everybody was cheering for the team and leaf village.

Boruto then sighed. He then remembered his original home back in the future. How he wished a scenario from a day ago would play out the same for his home but the opposite happened. It was destroyed and erased from existence.

"Nii-chan!" The voice of his little sister called him which interrupted his thoughts.

Boruto then looked up to be greeted by the lavender haired teen, who was carrying a tray that carried their whole breakfast for this morning.

"Breakfast is ready!" Himawari cheerfully said. She was always this energetic every morning. She then placed the tray on the table, thus the food she ordered was revealed to be a pair of pancake meals accompanied by two hot chocolate drinks.

"Woah." Boruto muttered as he stared at his breakfast in surprised. He never expected that the pancake would emitted this powerful aroma that would really make any person's stomach instantly demand for food.

"Well, they really make good pancakes here and by just looking at it, you're already hungry for more." Himawari simply smiled. She sat down on her seat and helped prepare the food.

"Well, I am pretty much starving dattebassa." Boruto commented as he was pretty much excited to devour his breakfast and as he was about to do so, his little sister suddenly interrupted him.

" **Ahem**." Himawari gave her big brother a look as she would like to remind him that He was forgetting something.

Boruto stared at his little sister with a confused look. His mind was processing and clearing out the confusion. A few moments later, He finally realized what the lavender haired teen mean't.

"Oh, sorry about that Hima." Boruto gave the latter an apologetic smile while scratching his ead.

Himawari sighed. This was actually her big brother's usual thing every meal. He would often forget to thanked Kami for the food even way back when their still kids. On the other hand, the blonde placed the spoon and fork back on the plate. He then gave his little sister a nod and smile signalling her that he was ready to pray for the food.

Himawari smiled back as the siblings took some of the moments to give thanks for their food. It was really an important thing to do before meals, at least for the latter. It was actually her mom who told her about giving thanks before eating their meals back home.

As they finished giving thanks for the food, they were finally allowed to eat their breakfast. Boruto, who was finally released, began to eat his breakfast with pure enjoyment. The pancakes tasted phenomenal for him.

"This is really great!" Boruto commented. He would really like to know the the recipe for this pancake.

Himawari could only smile as she observed her older blonde. She was glad to have him as a big brother. Even though, He acted a little bit immature sometimes, She considered him as one of the best there is out there. He still had the same old personality back when they were still kids but this version was more calmed and reserved.

"Nii-chan?" Himawari called her big brother again.

Boruto, who was busy munching his pancake then looked up to face his little sister. "Yeah, What is it Hima-chan?" He asked as there was food still on his mouth.

"What do you think life so far here in the past?" Himawari asked. She wanted to know her big brother's perspective and thoughts about their new life here so far.

Boruto gave his little sister a smile." Well, So far things had been really great! " He commented. He would go on to explain that things were very much educational for him so far. There were a lot of new things about here that he'd learned so far.

Himawari nodded in understanding. She could also say the same thing. She had been also doing her own research about life in the past. She described life here as very much simple and not complicated compared back home, where technology was just everywhere. In here, the social aspect of life here was much more on the side of face to face communication.

"Well, It really just bugs me on how will the people in this era react in our Era." Boruto commented. He wondered on how will people such as his young dad and others will react to the technology that the future posssesed. From computers, gaming devices, and advance transportation, the reaction would be pretty much priceless.

"You're right about that." Himawari said. She imagine how would the younger version of their dad would be reacting to a small communication device known as a "Cellular Phone."

"Pretty sure He would be acting like some kind of caveman and treat it as some kind of alien device." Boruto added which caused slight laughter from the laveder haired teen.

"Pretty much." Himawari replied. She found herself enjoying the comfort of her big brother's jokes once again.

As the Uzumaki siblings continued to eat their breakfast. They also began to wonder about their parents. What would their thoughts be on them if they were here. How would they react to the siblings' current situation?

"You know if Mom and Dad were here, I think they would be in this cafe right now eating breakfast together with us." Himawari told the most logical explanation that she could think of. Their parents really loved them that much, especially their mom who was really a bit overprotective.

Boruto nodded." Yup, they were really inseparable for most of the part." He added. He also began to wondered on how those two met and fell in love with each other. It must be a very romantic meeting.

"Speaking of dad, What do you think of him so far?" Himawari asked as she took a sip of her hot chocolate drink.

Boruto sighed but smiled." Well, from the way I see it. He is really different." He said, He explained that the younger version of his dad was far different from their dad from the future. He was young, a bit reckless but he had the energy and burning passion to be a strong shinobi.

Boruto chuckled for a bit. He was wondering on how was he gonna be friends with his young dad. He noticed that the latter's personality was a bit complex at the first place but as soon as his young dad took off his mask, his real personality was revealed. A person who was just looking for love and belongingness.

On the other hand, Himawari was also sad to hear the revelation. It was forgotten part of their dad's story that He wouldn't tell or bring up. It was like a kind of sensitive thing to be talked about for him.

There are things from the past that they were still not aware or had learned yet. The Uzumaki siblings were really looking forward to explore and learn more as time passes.

Another thought then came up to the Uzumaki girl. "I wonder if Sarada-nee will be thinking the same thing." Himawari wondered.

"What do you mean by thinking the same?" Boruto asked. He was a bit confused.

"Well, what I mean't was that if she is aware that about Uncle Sasuke and all this stuff regarding his past." Himawari explained. She was curious on what the raven haired Uchiha will think if she learns about her father's past. She heard stories from her mom about the latter's father being an enemy of the village back then.

Boruto nodded in understanding." Well, I'm not really sure but the only way to get the answer is by talking to her and asking her directly." He explained.

Himawari nodded." You're right about that." She agreed.

"Speaking of Sarada-chan, Where is she by the way." Boruto asked. He kind of forgot on where his teammate went to.

"I guess you're really getting forgetful." Himawari commented with a slight chuckle while the blonde just sighed.

"Yeah, you're right I'm getting there, but where did she went off to?" He asked once again.

Himawari sighed. She would go on to explained that the latter had told them before that she will be heading to the public library which was not far from here and also had an early morning opening.

Boruto widened his eyes in surprised. "Really?" He said. He wondered on why the latter would spend her time reading books in the morning? Was this really her main hobby right now? If it is, then her breakfast would be nothing but knowledge and information.

He really had to find this public library after he fiinish breakfast.

* * *

 **-MEANWHILE WITH SARADA-**

The Sunagakure Grand library was such a site to see. It was indeed a very huge place, more bigger than the public library back in the leaf village. The interior design of the building was beautiful and jaw-dropping.

By the time Sarada arrived at the said library. She was amazed of the architecture and design of the building itself. Whoever designed this building, must be given an award for his or her creativity. It was just marvelous.

The Uchiha girl observed the place further as she bothered to walked around and explore the place. She quite in fact surprised that this library had an early morning opening compared to its counterpart back in the leaf village. As she continued to move forward, she finally reached the reader's section.

So far, there were only a few handful of people that are inside the building currently. Sarada then proceeded to take her a spot at the said section, she then placed her small bag at the table and thus her loved for reading finally came back to life once more.

Sarada proceeded to head to the main area where the books were located. Mostly she was looking for favourite genres which were History and mysteries. The whole place was indeed very quiet and of course it was library but not this eerily quiet. Sarada had enough of rumours about this library being haunted because it was old.

As the raven haired girl finally reached her destination which was the said section, she was then greeted by the lone path way which was surrounded by hundreds of books that were placed on their respective shelves.

Sarada then took a deep breath, as she proceeded to collect the books that she wanted to read. Her onyx eyes surveyed the shelves in search for those specific books. While searching, she suddenly stumbled upon a book that intrigued her. She then grabbed and pulled out the book from its place.

The particular book was simply entitled " ** _Revelation_**."

Sarada gave a surprised and amused look. She observed the outer part of the book, which had a dark brownish color and She described it as somewhat very old as if It hadn't been used for a long time.

"Interesting." Sarada muttered. Looks like she'd finally a book to read for awhile

* * *

.

 **(Interview)**

 **"The book was really intriguing to be honest. it's like it was written a very long time ago.**

 **-Sarada**

* * *

 **-AWHILE LATER-**

Sarada sat down on her seat as she began to read the book. She opened it and she was greeted by the books contents page which contained a lot of topics that she hadnt learned yet. Most of these topics tackled Myths and Legends that she never heard before.

Curiosity took her to another level as she flipped the first pages and began to read the first few topics which discussed several unknown legends across the elemental nations. Legends, such as a mysterious tree which directly linked to the Sage of Six Path's origins, A whole mysterious clan that resided on the moon and the mysterious " **Pure Land**." A place where all living things that died would go to which was expanded more in the book. It seemed that this book had all the information regarding the elemental nations and also from beyond. The author of this book must've been researching his or her butt off everyday.

So far the Uchiha girl was enjoying every part of mystery that she was learning from this book. Although, there was one topic that really made her intrigue amongst the other legends that were in this book.

As she was flipping the pages, she stumbled upon a certain topic that caught her eyes and attention. It was a topic that was very different from the rest. The topic's name was known as " _ **Genesis**_."

"Hmmm, Strange name for a topic." Sarada commented as she continued to read more from the book.

She tried to find the reason why such as a word would be chosen as the topic's name. As she began reading the contents of the said topic, she would then soon learned an unknown lore that was seemed to be not included in the history books. The topic spoke of a mysterious powerful being only known as " _ **Chaos**_ " which existed during the early times of creation. Apparently, this being was so powerful that no one can kill it. It was a described as an ancient powerful winged creature that stood with titanic proportions.

Nothing is known about its origins or when it came from. It is said to have appeared in numerous times in different places and each time the creature started to wreak chaos and destruction of unimaginable proportions.

Sarada then learned that this being was most likely the most powerful creature in existence. Even the combined of every existing thing including the gods or celestial beings themselves, were not enough to bring harm to him. The final straw came when the said being was on the verge of destroying every existing life and millenniums ago, All of the things in existence, be it Gods, Celestial beings, Demons, Humans, and including spirits from the afterlife united together in a effort to defeat the creature.

Since no one could ever lay harm on it, the only possible way that they could do was to seal the creature away and until to this day no one knows where or how it was sealed and no one will ever find it. That was also the only time that everybody was united until all went their separate ways after the being was banished. There were also rumours about fragments of the creature's power being scattered in different places in a form of giant trees which contained dark energy but there were hardly enough evidence about its existence.

History continued and wars still ravaged the nations and until to this day even there is no war, there is still a chance of it happening.

Sarada sighed as she removed her eyes from reading the book. She had learned enough information and she decided that it was time to rest for awhile. She had to admit that this was a one of a kind lore or legend. Although, She wasn't gonna easily believed that everything of it was true. There were hardly enough evidence to support the legend.

Gods, Celestial Beings, and Spirits? It was all just too far fetched unless she was given the opportunity to see it then she might be able to believed it. Right now, She was found herself travelling back in time along with the Uzumaki siblings which was enough to be considered a very far fetched story.

Sarada then rested her head on the chair. She then removed her glasses, placed it on the table and rubbed her tired eyes. She took note in her mind, that read just one book and it really made her eyes a bit exhausted.

" _So how's breakfast?_ " A familiar voice then interrupted her thoughts.

The Uchiha girl then placed her glasses back on her eyes and she was greeted by none other than her blonde teammate." Boruto? I thought you were the cafe shop with Hima." Sarada said. She also wondered on how did the latter managed to locate her.

Boruto smiled." Well, I just had a feeling that you'll be immersing yourself with a lot books so I head here to find out." He explained as He sat down beside the raven haired girl.

"Where's Hima by the way?" Sarada asked.

"Hima is still at the cafe but she told me that she would be exploring the rest of the village later on. So that means I have the free time to also immersed myself with Knowledge just like you." Boruto explained as He began to checked out the books that his teammate brought to the table.

"Really?" Sarada couldn't believed it. This was the first time she had seen him wanting to read books. Her blonde Teammate was not known for reading books.

"So what do you got here?" Boruto asked as He grabbed one certain book from the table which was the same book that Sarada had read just awhile ago.

Sarada sighed." It's just one of those old forgotten books that were lost in history." She simply explained as she massaged her forehead.

"Really?" Boruto asked. He was beginning to get curious about the book itself.

Not a moment too soon, He opened the book and began flipping through its contents. He was then unknowingly directed to a certain page of the book which really caught his attention, thus He began reading its contents.

As for Sarada, she began to noticed that the blonde's expression had turned into full curiousness. He was intently reading the book as if He discovered something big.

"Hey, are you alright?" Sarada asked. She gave the blonde a puzzled look.

A few moments later, the blonde then turned his eyes directly towards the latter." So where do you got this book from?" He asked. This book has gotten interest even though he himself rarely reads.

"Well, I got that from the Mystery and Myths section." Sarada explained. She also informed that by the time she discovered the book, it was somehow very dusty and old but in good condition.

"Have you checked the author of the book?" Boruto asked.

Sarada nodded." Yup, but the only problem is the Author's name is not written on this book." She said. She would go on to explain that by the time she checked the information background of the book there was hardly any useful information written to it.

Boruto on the other hand was taken by surprised and puzzlement. A book without an Author's name is just really strange. He would then go on to explained that when he was reading the book, He immediately realized that its contents somehow were very different than any lore in the shinobi world and the surprising thing about it, is that he noticed that some of book's stories felt as if it had really happened.

Sarada was a bit confused, but eventually she figured it out." So you're saying that this book is somehow telling the truth?" She asked. Why was He believing an unknown legend?

Boruto shook his head." I'm not saying that this book is true, What I mean't was that this book tells a whole a new world out there Dattebassa.!" He explained. Unknowningly disturbing the peace in the library and receiving a looked from the librarian herself.

 **"Young man please be quiet!"**

"Oops sorry about that." Boruto quickly apologized.

Sarada gave an amused face." Hmm, interesting, are you gonna borrow the book by the way?" She asked.

"Well, I don't have a library membership card." Boruto was gonna really borrow it but the bad news was that He didn't have any ID or Card membership to borrow the book. Sarada also shook her head. In fact, she had one but it had expired recently, so she was just going to apply for another one next week.

Boruto sighed as he rested on the chair. He began to think of a way to somehow borrow the book through legal means. He wasn't really going to steal it. As moments passed by, He drifted his eyes throughout his current area and immediately noticed a single photocopier machine that was stationed at the corner of the readers section.

"Jackpot!" He widened his eyes as he finally figured out a way. He then stood up from his seat headed towards the said machine.

"What are you gonna do this time?" Sarada asked.

Boruto gave her a grin."Well, If I can't borrow it, then I might as well copy it." He explained as he was referring to the photocopier machine. Who had the power to copy any documents.

Instead of receiving a smile or a nod. His Uchiha teammate gave him a sligtly worried look which confused the latter even more.

"What's with the face? This is Legal ya know." Boruto slightly chuckled.

Sarada sighed." Yeah I know that, but you're gonna have to pay first." She explained.

Boruto gave a confused look." Hmm That's strange?" He said. He never thought that this library would charged people for using the photocopier machine.

"Yes Boruto, Every single library does that." Sarada explained. Does her teammate even know the basic system of the libraries?

"Alright then, so how much would I pay?" Boruto asked. He then began drew up his wallet from his pocket.

"It depends on how many pages you're gonna copy. One Ryo per page though." She explained.

"Alright then." Boruto smiled as he then darted his back to the book.

His smile soon disappeared when he discover that He had to copy almost 200 pages of this whole book. The blonde then scratched his head, He was gonna pay 200 just to photocopy an old book.

"You've got to be kidding me!"

* * *

 **-MEANWHILE WITH HIMAWARI-**

"This is a really nice place!"

Himawari strolled along the streets of the the sand village. She felt like a tourist right at the moment. The place was indeed really great and Despite the sandish atmosphere, it was still a mesmerising thing for her.

She described herself a bit of an adventure person. She really like to travel to different places, learn more about the heritage and culture. She could say that she had that Uzumaki persona in her.

She also immersed herself into the village's culture. She learned about on how the people here were very much hospitable, kind, and welcoming. She also tried to eat the local dish here which she found really delicious. She even joined and played a game of street soccer with the local kids here and her team won the game.

"I just wished Nii-chan and Sarada-nee would be here to see this." Himawari commented. She began to wonder on why did the two didn't chose to come with her but instead they went to the library to read some books.

"Is reading a book that enjoyable?" Himawari wondered.

A thought then came to her. She recalled her big brother telling her that he would be going to library to check on the raven haired teen." Does Nii-chan really care so much about Sarada-nee that He would read books with her?" She asked herself.

Himawari then shook her head. It was just a bit impossible right now for her big brother to have feelings for the raven haired teen. Although, she herself began to noticed hints that Uchiha girl had feelings for the older blonde which was really not that surprising

She then sighed yet again. Why was she thinking about these kind of things. She should be enjoying adventure right now.

She was a tourist right now.

* * *

 **CHAPTER END**

 **AN: Thank you for reading the chapter**!


	32. Arc 2: Finale

**I don't own Naruto. Kishimoto Does.**

 **Author's note: Hey there Readers!, Looks like we've reached the Arc 2 Finale ! I Hope you guys enjoy! I would also like to thank you guys for the Reviews. Favorites, and follows :) Thank you for also sharing your tips and thoughts for the story.**

 **Thank you for Understanding :)**

 **Expect Grammar and Spelling mistakes**

 **P.S: I am just newbie so go easy on me**

* * *

 **Arc Finale**

 **Chapter 19: Mission Accomplished**

It was very quiet start for a morning as the day had finally come for the departure of a certain group of Leaf shinobi back towards their respective village. Just several days ago, they were sent by the Hokage in a mission involving the rescue of the Kazekage, who was captured by the S rank Organization, The Akatsuki and they managed to successfully bring the latter back in one piece but it cost the life an important ally in the form of Master elder puppeteer, Lady Chiyo.

Pure green eyes stood in front of a lone tomb at the nearby outskirts of the village. Sakura, who along with the brother of Lady Chiyo, Ebizo and her grandson, Sasori observed the the lone tomb itself. The scene around them was pretty much quiet as the two were still mourning for the latter's loss.

The pink haired girl was silent. She was still recalling the important advice that was given to her by the latter. Her mind kept repeating the same good memories that she had created with the elder puppeteer during the mission. Even though, it was short-lived, it created hope for the pink haired teen.

A small tear fell from the pink haired girl's eye. Sakura then took a couple deep breaths to calmed herself down which she successfully did. She then darted her eyes to the elder, who had finished his prayers for his sister.

"You know young kunoichi, I haven't seen a person so strong and determined like Elder Sister." Ebizo said as he gave the young teen a smile.

Sakura nodded and smiled. She really agreed with the latter. She also had never seen such person at this age who had a fiery and young heart.

"She never gave up on anything and overcame obstacle that put her to the test." Ebizo explained. He quite fondly remembered his big sister during their younger days. He would never forget the latter's strong spirit and determination that took her to higher levels.

Sakura gave a small smile. She began to listened to the elder's telling of the true stories about the puppeteer. She would then learned that the latter herself had taken care of the young Sasori, when his parents perished during the war. She was also responsible for starting the puppet shinobi brigade here in the sand village. There were really all lot of things that she can learn from her by just listening to her stories.

"There was one thing that my elder sister told me before she passed, and that is her dream of bringing back her grandson to the village again." Ebizo said. It was really one of the latter's wished. For her grandson to find his way again and redeemed himself.

"By the way though, How are you Sasori?" He asked. He had not seen his nephew in a very long time.

Sasori just simply smiled." I'm alright Jiji." He replied as he went to the latter and placed his hand on the elder's shoulder as a sign of comforting him.

Sakura then gave a smile. "He's been doing good Jiji." She also said. There was indeed news from the red head himself. Since He came back to the village, It was not an easy task as he was still subjected to further investigation and interrogation. Right now, He was on monitored status, as the some of the Officials were still suspicious about him even though, he himself already moved on and gave up the Akatsuki life for good.

He is currently residing in his old home, which he had spent the most of his childhood and is also being placed under house arrest.

"Looks like the village is really getting overprotective nowadays but I'm glad to hear the news, I might be able to visit you from time to time." The elder smiled. He would really like to spend time with the nephew that he had never quite known.

"I just wished that my elder sister would be here right now to see her grandson once more." Ebizo added as he placed his hand on the latter's shoulder.

Sakura gave a small smile. She was glad to see the red head reconnecting with his remaining family. She also wished that Lady Chiyo was here right now. She was really the most wisest and friendliest person that she'd ever met Sakura knew that she was going to carry the adviced that the latter had given to her prior for the most of her life from now on.

She then darted her eyes towards the red head. She had this question that she wanted to asked." So what do you plan on doing now?" She asked.

Sasori, who turned his head towards the pink haired teen, simply gave a smile." I really would like to become a teacher in the future." He said. He would then go on to explained that He was going to fulfill his grandmother's promise on teaching the next generation of puppeteer shinobi and he will be not wasting his time on doing other things.

"So I guess you'll be keeping her legacy alive." Sakura then said. She finally figured it out.

Sasori simply nodded. Even though, she was gone, He was still gonna keep her memory alive inside. He knew that he had a long way to go but the future was bright for him from now on very far away from the clutches of the dark path that he could've gone straight to.

Sakura could only smile. She was starting to believe that there was still hope for people like Sasori to changed for the better. Maybe it could also happen to a certain Sasuke Uchiha in the future.

As for Sasori himself, He was starting a new chapter in his life. It was really time for him to be redeemed. He knew that it was going to be a difficult task to do but He will do his best to move on from his past lived his life as a normal citizen in the sand village from now on. He might even start a school to educate and teach the next generation of the art of puppeteering and use them to protect the innocent and poor. He finally had a goal in life and its not about creating puppets for selfish means but putting the your heart and soul to it. That's what fuels the red head's hope and faith.

He was gonna enjoy this new life.

* * *

 **(Interview)**

 **"Well, I got myself talked into sense, and I have no regrets since I know I'm on the right path.**

 **-Sasori**

* * *

 **(MEANWHILE)**

Neji didn't understand the whole process that he was undergoing right now. Apparently, just before the team's departure back towards the village, his little cousin had persuaded him to do a quick souvenir shopping along the village.

Just awhile ago, He found himself carrying loads of paper bags which contained a lot of the stuff that Hanabi had bought. Considering, that she herself had been really earning and saving money, she might as well relaxed herself and do a little biy of shopping from here to there and everywhere.

As for Hanabi, this was one of those rare times that she would be really enjoying herself to the fullest. Since she can't move even freely back home because of the training regimen, at least she can do what she want here in another level.

It didn't took long enough for the shopping montage to finish. The Hyuugas currently found themselves having tea at a local tea shop somewhere in the commercial district of the sand village.

Neji felt a little bit exhausted as he sat down his seat. He can feel his hands shaking because of the heavy shopping bags that he was carrying just awhile ago. Although, He was already used to it now. He even recalled a time when Hanabi would asked him to do a little help with her shopping and that was his only job which was to carry the goods that the latter purchased.

A little while later. Hanabi finally arrived along with two hot cups of tea, that she ordered. She sat down at her seat as she placed the tray on their table.

"Here you go Big cousin, I am really sorry for dragging you again on another shopping spree." Hanabi explained. She also apologized for exhausting the brown haired young man yet again.

Neji on the other hand just simply smiled." It's alright Hanabi, I am already used to it." He said as he finally took a sip of his hot cup of tea.

"Plus, I should also be the one to thank you for this." He said which completely surprised the teenage Hyuga.

"For what?" Hanabi raised an eyebrow in confusion.

Neji sighed but smiled." For joining in this mission and making me realized that I should also enjoy it." He simply explained. It was the truth, He considered himself as a very serious guy on every mission he partook and not even trying to see the light side of it. But thanks to a likely person in the form of his little cousin, His views changed for the better.

Hanabi on the other hand felt pleased by the news. She was glad that she was seeing her big cousin transforming into a better person as time passes by. She also wondered if Himawari had something to do with this outcome. She noticed that things around her were slowly changing. Since the lavender haired teen came into the picture, everything seemed went back to the right path. She was also this walking human that radiated with good vibes all over her which seemed to transform people and giving them hope.

"Speaking of Himawari, Where is she by the way?" Neji coincidentally asked.

"Oh, She is helping the rest of her team packed their things for the journey." Hanabi explained. She was a bit sad that the latter couldn't come but she understood the fact that it was the latter's duty to help her team.

"You know because of her, She changed the way on how I view things, It gave me a purpose." Neji said. He was beginning to know that it was his responsiblity to protect his loved ones no matter what. He felt like he was born again once more.

Hanabi smiled. He was like already a big brother to her. She can see his loved and determination to be a better person overall. He was beginning to learned more about life and how to lived it correctly.

Although, there was one thing that He still didn't know yet, which was his tragic end in the future, which the lavender haired girl informed her awhile back. Hanabi felt that it wasn't the right time yet to tell him. He was still learning and it will take time for him to be ready to know the truth. If she ever tell him about the news then she feared that this might caused consequences because of her actions.

"Do you think we should tell Hinata about Himawari and Boruto?" Neji asked yet again which interrupted the latter's thoughts.

Hanabi blinked a couple of times before realizing his question." Well, I'm still thinking about that." She replied. She would go on to explained that her big sister might freaked out when she learns about the two being her children from the future. So she might have to wait for the right time to tell her. The Hyuuga Heiress also was a bit acting weirdly recently which was really making her world a bit crazy.

The only thing that she can do is to prepare herself for the unexpected. There were a lot possibilities that could happen in the future. Who knows what will fate bring them into this time. The world is such full of surprises.

As the two cousins continued and enjoyed their their tea, they both were deep into their thoughts, they both had feeling that someday in the future, they might be playing important roles for the time travelling trio.

Only time will tell.

* * *

 **(Interview)**

 **"We were very much excited to help them in anyway what we can. It's our job now as an Aunt and Uncle to protect them and make sure that they'll live their in a better and normal way.**

 **-Hanabi**

 **"I think the best way is to keep the secret for awhile. Since things are still on the adjusting phase. We'll let the flow take over for awhile.**

 **-Neji**

* * *

It was rescue mission that the time travelling trio won't forget. It was their first mission as an official leaf shinobi and they already learned much more than they expected. It was thing that they will remember as they looked forward to the future.

Boruto found himself starint at the beautiful sunrise. There was something special about the morning. He felt like it was an opportunity to start a new chapter in this current journey.

He knew that there were a lot of things that he was still gonna discover as the time passes by. As for him, this rescue mission gave him the enough experience to opened up his mind. He knew that there will be a lot of surprises along the way, and He will indeed prepare for it.

He then turned his eyes towards his little sister and Uchiha teammate who were helping the others organized their things before the team leaves for their trip back to the village.

A thought then came to the blonde, He wondered on what mission is Granny Hokage going to give them sometime in the future. He had feeling that they will be meeting a certain person that they knew when this mission comes.

Boruto also thought about those mysterious white cloaked figures that he saw during the mission. He still was not sure about their purpose here but He was sure that they might have something to do with this whole event.

He also had the old book from the library, copied through a photocopier machine, which he had paid for quite sum of money.

The old book which simply known as " **Revelation** " had caught the blonde's attention. By the time he first read the book, He was directed to a certain page and topic which discussed about this Mysterious beings called the "Guardians" and their description perfectly fits the same white cloaked figures that the blonde saw during the mission. So that was the reason why he wanted to copy the book and study its contents.

Boruto knew that there was something more to this and When he gets back to the village, He was sure going to research more about those beings.

As He gazed at the sun once more, He began to realized that there indeed something going on big here. It felt like as if the responsibility was getting heavier. There was a sense of their life being in danger in the future. He then glanced back at the people especially, his little sister and Sarada. He promised to himself that he was gonna protect the two no matter what.

He wasn't sure on where this journey will take them to but He was sure going to be ready and expect the unexpected

He will never stop believing and indeed He will never lose hope.

* * *

 **(Interview)**

 **"If anyone would say that we had come this far, No, we are just in the beginning."**

 **-Boruto**

* * *

 **CHAPTER END**

 **AN: Thank you for reading the chapter :)**


	33. Special Chapter: The Other Side Of Life

**Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto, Masashi Kishimoto does.**

 **Author's note: Hey there Readers!, I'm back with a new chapter! I Hope you guys enjoy! I would also like to thank you guys for the Reviews. Favorites, and follows :) Thank you for also sharing your tips and thoughts for the story.**

* * *

 **Special Short Chapter: The Other Side Of Life.**

Life of as an Akatsuki member was not that simple and easy. Once you were a member of the organization, you'll be branded as an enemy of fugitive for a life. It's either you'll end up being captured alive or just being simply end up dead. Once you become one with the organization, you'll be placed on the wanted list on every place you went to.

At least for one Itachi Uchiha, He would always have a plan for almost every problem that plague him as an Akatsuki member. He was part of the organization for years now and He was used to living a life as fugitive, travelling from place to place and avoiding the every authority that blocked his way.

Right now, He, along with fellow Akatsuki member, Kisame found themselves in a small village somewhere in one of the provinces of the Land of the Fire. The village itself was simple and peaceful, its commercial district which was the located at the heart of village was the busiest and most alive in the said place.

The small village also had a small lake which was situated at the nearby forest.

The Two men, who were dressed in their civilian clothing, walked through the streets as they were looking for a place to stay, such as a simple Inn, for tkzdthe night.

"You think we'll find and inn here Itachi? This is a small village that looks so suspicious in my eyes." Kisame said. He was always on the locked out for any possible danger and especially their heads were of Hillievereshe one's every place they had been to. He just wasn't sure about tknew. Could they probably know the ththeire givgiveawayss his blue skinned appearance.

Itachi could only sighed." Don't worry Kisame-san, I'm sure that this village won't recognized us." He pointed out. He would go on to explained that despite his friend's famous blue skinned appearance, no one was seriously paying attention to him.

"Hmmm. You're right about that." Kisame formed a question around his head. He was the famous blue skinned member of the Seven swordsmen of the mist and He wondered on why he wasn't being recognized here, with a few exceptions though.

"Mommy! There's a shark man walking in the streets!"

"I wonder if He can breath underwater?"

"I like his hairstyle! Reminds me of a Shark!"

Along the way, young kids started to noticed the blue skinned man and began to build a small crowd surrounding him." What the heck! These Kids are annoying!" Kisame complained. He was caught by surprised as he found himself being ambushed by a small crowd of children that began to play with him.

Itachi could only smile." You really are famous, Kisame-san." He commented.

Kisame could only whined for help as the kids were really being hard on him. Some were trying pull out his hair, some were touching cheeks and some were just staring at him wide in awe.

"Oh children."

After a little encounter with the kids in the village, the two finally set out to finish their goal of finding an inn. It was a little over in the afternoon and it took them quite a time on finding an Inn. When they finally stumbled upon one, Kisame could only rejoice as He can now finally sleep on a bed.

* * *

As night time finally came by, the two had finally settled in their room, although for a short while. It was then when Kisame asked the latter if he can come with him outside and have a couple of Sake to make the night complete at least for once.

Itachi could only sighed but he agreed only on the condition that He would not touch or bother any bottle of Sake to drink. In fact, the Uchiha himself does not even drink to begin with. He valued his health more than anything related to drinking or smoking. He was a self-disciplined person.

Kisame on the other hand, wanted to go out for awhile because staying inside the Inn might make him crazy. Plus, He hadn't have a bottle of Sake for a long while and now was the right time for him to enjoy.

There was a noodle shop which was just a few blocks away from the Inn, the particular shop was also the nearest and it had Sake as one of the drinks available. The blue skinned man wasted no time as He headed to the shop dragging his Uchiha friend along.

As for Itachi, the next thing he knew, He was just staring and observing his blue skinned friend who was enjoying his drink to the fullest and He was even chatting with some customers who were drinking Sake as well.

The laughter could be heard around the shop. It was already night time as Itachi felt a bit little drowsy. He even yawned for a little bit sensing that his mind was ready to rest for the night. He then gave a look at the latter who was still drinking his Sake and chatting with the customers.

Itachi sighed. He wondered on when this was gonna end. He really wanted to lay down on fluffy bed back at the Inn. He then tried to think of any ways possible for him to stay awake for the next hours. After a moment of thinking, He finally found a solution.

The Young man then stood up from his seat. He was going to take a walk around the village so that he would keep his mind busy and help him stay awake.

"Hey Itachi where are you going"? A sligtly drunk Kisame asked.

"I'm going for a little walk outside." Itachi simply replied as he left the noodle shop for a stroll around the small village.

* * *

The night continued as the full moon was in its glory, giving light throughout the darkness that spreaded across the land.

Itachi gazed towards the moon as he was mesmerize of its beauty. Along with the stars twinkling at the same. He considered this a very perfect night although at the very same time, thoughts were clouding his mind.

He would always remember a memory everytime He found himself in a scene like this. Back then when his little brother was just an infant, He would always bring him outside of the house so they could watch the beautiful night sky.

It was a way for the infant Sasuke to calmed himself from crying and it did actually work.

Itachi gave a sad smile. He really missed his little brother and he was worried about him everyday and since he went on to betray the village and joined the snake, it made the situation more worst. Orochimaru was this kind of guy who was obsessed of obtaining every power that he could get his hands into. The snake was clever on comvincing people to join his group.

Itachi sighed yet again. He had to admit that sometimes he felt clueless and didn't know what to do. He would often wished that his parents were here to guide him and He also didn't like to be alone all the time. He was just good on hiding his true emotions.

As his strolling continued, He stumbled upon a gathering of some villagers by the small lake ahead. He also noticed that the villagers were consist of families and they were all heading into one place. Curiosity had took over him and He decided to go along.

* * *

By the time He arrived at the small lake. He was then greeted by a wonderful and beautiful sight. There were majestic lights appearing in the middle of the sky above the small lake. It was an Aurora Borealis, according to the Uchiha's knowledge. Although, He wondered why it was appearing at a place like this when this kind of phenomenon only appears at a high altitude places.

He then tried to observed the lights further more and noticed something different about it. He described it as something more ethereal, it was slowly moving like streams of energy, and it was so majestic that the villagers were just in awe.

Sensing that this was no ordinary Aurora Borealis, He began to wonder on what was this kind of phenomenon right in front of him. It was just too beautiful.

"What you see there young man is none other than the life of this world." A voice of an old man said.

Itachi then snapped from his thoughts as He then turned to his right to see an old man who was accompanied by his grandson.

"Life of this world?" Itachi asked.

The old man simply nodded." Yes, It is the life that sustains this world and gives everything a purpose." The old man said. He was also gazing at the mesmerizing site.

"A purpose?" Itachi muttered. This was new information to him. Why he wasn't aware about this?

The old man simply nodded." Yes wihout it, we won't be standing here right now." He slightly chuckled.

Itachi was abit confused right now. What was this "Life" of this world that He was talking about that?

"Tell me Young man, are you not from this village?" The old man asked.

Itachi nodded." Yes sir, I came here with a friend and we are both travellers." He simply explained. He also told the latter that they were staying at the local Inn for the night.

"Oh I see." The old man said.

"No wonder everyone has forgotten all about it." He added. The old man pointed out that everyone was busy fighting and engaging wars that they have forgotten about the life of this world that their living in. He would go on to explained to the latter about the origins of this life energy.

He told the young Uchiha that this life was known as the energy or lifeforce of the world. During time of creation, the great Kami-sama created this world and breathed life to it by giving this powerful ethereal force which acts as the world's life energy. Without that life energy or force, the world won't survive and the people with cease to exist.

"Interesting." Itachi muttered. He also wondered on what Chakra has to do with this life force or the connection to it.

"Some say that this life energy contains all the memories of our loved ones who had passed on to the Pure Land." The old man explained.

"They say that when we passed on, Our physical energy will become one with it." He added. Noting that every people directly came from the life force from this world.

"And what is the Pure Land?" Itachi asked.

"The Pure land is a place where everyone goes to when a person passed on. It's a place only filled joy and happiness." He simply explained.

"I hope to meet my loved ones there when I passed on." The old man smiled.

On the other hand, Itachi could only smile. He heard stories about the Pure Land. He wondered if He can still go there when his time comes. Would He be accepted there? Do even people that lived a life of danger would be allowed in that very place?

"Young man."

Itachi then snapped from his thoughts as the old man called him yet again.

"Here's my advice, remember that there is always hope for anyone to redeem themselves. So never lose that hope and Live your life to the fullest." The old man said as he gave the latter a smile.

Itachi on the other hand just simply nodded. He was actually thinking of leaving the organization but a part of him told him not to. He then remembered that he had a purpose and that was to protect his village and he knew that he was doing the right thing.

When his finally time comes, He would say that He did what He had to doand He would be allowed enter the Pure Land to reunite with his loved ones.

A little while had passed and the Majestic Phenomenon slowly faded away, the moon was back in charged as the source of light throughout the night. Everyone, including Itachi had headed back to the main village.

* * *

By the time He got back to the noodle shop, He was then greeted by his blue skinned friend who just now sleeping on the counter as a result of his drinking. He was also the only left at the shop as the rest of the customers had already left the area.

Itachi just shook his head and sighed. "What happened here?" He asked.

The noodle shop owner would then explained to him that the latter had took two bottles of Sake and as a result, the blue skinned man unknowingly slip down to unconsciousness.

"Plus He had not pay for his food yet." The noodle shop owner explained. He was also closing the shop down but since the last customer was still here and was now sleeping, He wasn't able to.

Itachi sighed yet again." Don't worry, I will pay for his food." He assured the latter that he will pay for his friend's bill.

As the night continued, the young Uchiha found himself carrying the unconscious snoring Kisame on his back.

"He's really heavy." Itachi commented on his thoughts. He wished he could have prevented this outcome but he knew it was too late so he had no choice but to do a possible back breaking task of carrying him.

Itachi then shook his head and sighed. The only thing that He could do was to immersed himself with his own thoughts so He that he wouldn't feel the struggle of carrying his friend.

Days had passed since his last encounter with the raven haired girl. The leaders of the Organization called for an emergency meeting and told everyone to stopped their recent activities and stay in low profile for the time being, Hence why He and his friend were on civilian clothing.

He thought about the raven haired girl once more, Could she really be his niece from the future? If it was, then who's the girl that his little brother was gonna marry in the future. There was so many questions running around his head. The only way that he can think of right now is by visiting the girl once again in the village so that he can get proper answers that he wanted and also get to know her more.

Looks like Things had gotten more interesting right now.

* * *

 **CHAPTER END**

 **AN: Thank you for reading the special short chapter :)**


	34. Arc 3: Back Home

**I don't own Naruto. Kishimoto Does.**

 **Author's note: Hey there Readers!, Looks like we've finally entered Arc 3! I Hope you guys enjoy! I would also like to thank you guys for the Reviews. Favorites, and follows :) Thank you for also sharing your tips and thoughts for the story.** **.**

 **Thank you for Understanding :)**

 **Expect Grammar and Spelling mistakes**

* * *

 **Arc 3: Back Home**

The scene at the gates was pretty much overwhelmed with the Youthness of Team 8's main instructor, Might Gai. In fact, He was the first one to arrived with style at the gates while carrying a very drained Kakashi Hatake on his back.

"Looks like we're finally home Kakashi!" He enthusiastically said. Apparently, He was also on a tight race with his own bushy brow student.

"Gai-sensei!" Rock Lee arrived after a few moments, carrying two heavy back packs. He also did his best by catching up with his sensei towards the gates despite himself limping his way throughout the whole race. His wound was still not healed yet.

"Looks like I won Lee." Gai said. He was boasting his youthfulness once again.

The rest of the team arrived a little later on, They were greeted by the two guys who were arguing about on who's being the fastest or who needs more training between the two of them. It was just full youth right now.

As for the time travelling trio, they were not amazed of the whole Gai and Rock Lee scene but they were just amused on how the two acted so similar.

"Are they always like that?" Boruto asked.

Sarada could only shrugged." Beats me, But I heard they are somehow related to each other." Sarada commented. She was wondering if they were really father and son, because they have the same haircut, same attitude and same flare to each other.

As for Himawari, She was just deducing the fact that the bushy brow could be just a big fan of the man, Hence why the latter was trying so hard to copy his sensei's every move and mannerisms.

As for the Hyuuga cousins, they just looked at each other in the midst of this moment. Both were just pretty much amused, and they were also on the logical perspective.

"I hate to break it to you but should they be really going to the hospital right now?" Hanabi asked. She was just a bit worried that the main instructor of her big cousin's team was not noticing the fact that the white haired man was already unconscious.

Neji could only sighed." Well, I don't know what to say." He simply said. He also had the same thoughts as his cousin. They really should be going to the hospital right now.

Team 7's Main instructor really looks like a Potato right now.

* * *

 **(** **INTERVIEW)**

 **"It will take more than a minute for Gai-sensei to realized that Kakashi-san is in dire straits. Although, you can't stop the man from celebrating.**

 **-Neji**

 **"All I gotta say is that my cousin's team has to be craziest team I'd ever seen.**

 **-Hanabi**

* * *

 **(MEANWHILE)**

Tsunade tiredly sighed. She placed her pen on the table and fully rested herself on her chair. She had just finished the last round of the stack of paperwork that was given to her by her young assistant. She was a bit surprised that she managed to finished it earlier than expected.

The blonde woman then darted her eyes around the office, the room itself was messy and chaotic as documents were scattered on the floor and along with her pet pig, Tonton, who was sleeping on the floor and snoring all the way, She can finally consider this office as her second home.

Her thoughts began drifting to the two teams which were assigned on the rescue mission several days ago. She wondered on how they were doing as of now. So far the only news that receive so far was that they were pretty much sucessful on their mission and they even managed to capture an Akatsuki member, which was Sasori of the Red Sand, who was under custody of the Suna authorities.

Tsunade herself was impressed. capturing an S rank criminal was a difficult feat to achieved, but somehow they managed to do it. She also began suspect that the time travelling trio had something to do with this surpring outcome and since they're from the future, they've got the knowledge on what will happened before the event itself actually happened.

Speaking of the trio, the blonde woman was worried for assigning them on a very dangerous mission as she also blamed herself for giving them a hard time but she had no choice but to do it or else someone may get suspicious about it.

* * *

 **(INTERVIEW)**

 **"It's best logical way that I can think off. No matter how many times that I would repeat it in every interview, I won't have any regrets.**

 **-Tsunade**

* * *

At the same time, the only door in the office suddenly opened.

Tsunade then darted her eyes towards the door only to be greeted by the time travelling trio themselves and also the Hyuuga cousins. But there was something missing, where were the rest of the team?

"You're back!" Tsunade was caught by the surprised as she stood up from her seat and immediately headed towards the trio to check if they were alright as if they had been her family for a very long time.

The rest of everyone was a bit surprised when they were greeted by the worried looking blonde Hokage. For the Uzumaki siblings, they were surprised as they also began to compare the similarities of a worried Tsunade to a worried version of their mom.

Sarada was also having the same thoughts as the siblings did. She began to wonder if they really had an effect towards the people they met here. They were being somehow treated as if they were a long lost member of a family. It was really stranged.

For Hanabi and Neji, they were just witnessing a scene they had never seen before from the Hokage herself. They often would see her as this very serious and strict person but right now, they were seeing something different. A much more motherly and worried version of her.

Boruto was the one that got surprised as He didn't expect that he would received a hug from the older woman, who just squeezed him tightly.

"Man, that was so tight-ttebassa!" Boruto cringed. Although, it was only a momentarily hug, it felt as if he was being squeeze like a lemon juice. He didn't knew that the Hokage herself was a monster hugger.

Meanwhile, Himawari and Sarada received a much more calmer greeting as the Lady Hokage just held their hands.

"I'm glad you guys are alright, Could you tell me what happened? and where are the rest of the team?" Tsunade straightforwarddly asked. She wanted to know all the answers but before that, she directed them to the other seats.

"Well, I don't know how to start this but Uncle Kakashi is in the hospital right now." Boruto said.

"Grandpa Gai tired him out pretty much." Himawari added.

Tsunade would then learned that the team arrived just today and the rest of the team were at the hospital to helped the copycat ninja checked in. Apparently, He had drained all his chakra all in that because of using his Mangekyou Sharingan during the pursuit of the Akatsuki member, Deidara.

"So that's why He ended up at the hospital?" Tsunade asked while others just simply nodded.

"So How did the mission went for you guys?" She added.

Himawari smiled." Well, I had a lot of fun!" She said. She would then further explained that she had a little run-in with an enemy clone of her Uncle Neji, which she had beaten so bad.

"It's been educational Ma'am." Sarada simply said. She had learned a lot from the rescue mission itself. Especially, that people can still changed for the greater good.

Boruto sighed but smiled." I guess I'll go with Sarada-chan's answer." He simply said. He really learned a lot from this mission and also from his old man. He also described it as an emotional roller coaster ride.

Tsunade sighed." Well then, I'm glad you're all in one piece." She said.

The blonde woman then darted her eyes to the Hyuuga cousins, who were actually waiting for her to asked them the questions.

"What about you two?" Tsunade simply asked as she gave them raised eyebrows.

Hanabi would then turned out to be the spokeperson of the two of them as she then explained that they were all here to submit the whole report of the rescue mission, that they made a few days ago back at the Sand village.

Tsunade then simply nodded in understanding as the blonde woman then darted her eyes towards the time travelling trio.

"Alright, then I guess you three are dismissed for now." Tsunade said.

All of the trio's eyebrows raised in surprised. That means that they can finally go home and take their deserved long rest.

"As for you two, I will be talking to you for awhile." She added as she beckoned the Hyuuga cousins to stay here for awhile so that she could talk to them on something important.

* * *

 **(LATER ON)**

A little while later, the time travelling trio had left but not before giving their goodbyes towards the three first.

All that's left were just Tsunade herself and the two Hyuugas who were sitting on their seats and waiting for the conversation to start. Not too long, the meeting had began.

Tsunade sighed." So tell me, what do you know about the three so far?" She asked, referring to the time travelling trio.

There was brief moment of silence from the two cousins, until Hanabi finally spoke.

"Well, We were actually the first ones to know." Hanabi said. She would go on to explained that through a secret meeting at the tea house with the raven haired girl about a month ago, she told her everything about what is to know and also accompanied by showing her sharingan right in front of her, which really freaked her out.

"We also found out that Boruto and Himawari are actually related to us." Neji spoke this time. He was the second one to know the big revelation and He was kind of shocked about the fact that he was an "Uncle" in the future. A possible single Uncle.

Tsunade sighed yet again." Well then, Thank you for telling me." She said. She was also glad that these two know the truth and that at least they can protect them and their secret.

"And before I go to the hospital, I might as well assigned you two on a special assignment." The blonde woman said, which definitely confused the two Hyuugas.

"What kind of special assignment?"

Tsunade formed a small smile around her face." Just do your part on protecting the three from any kind danger and their secret." She simply explained.

Both of the Hyuuga cousins nodded in understanding. They were ready and willing to accept the assignment all because that the trio, especially the Uzumaki siblings were already part of the family and they would regard them as something precious to them.

* * *

 **(ACADEMY)**

The day continued on uneventful as the time travelling trio found themselves walking along the streets of the village, since they have the free time now, they might as well enjoy the nostalgic atmosphere of the whole village.

Boruto observed his surroundings. It was just surreal for him to see the village as a more simple and peaceful place. It was not the crowded and noisy place that he used to lived in to back in the future. Only the breezing wind would be heard instead of the loud engines of the train that traversed around the village.

Himawari quite fondly remembered the streets that they were walking through currently. It was one of those streets where her mother would take her too along the way home as a child.

Sarada on the other hand, would fondly remember on how she would used to take a stroll with her Papa along the busy crowded streets. She would usually get separated with him, and later on her Papa would end up using the Sharingan just to immediately find her. There were a lot of times to which the scene would happen and it was like a little adventure for her.

As their walked continued, they stumbled upon a familiar site.

"Isn't that the Academy?" Sarada asked. She couldn't believed her eyes.

"Yup, I think so." Boruto said. He was also surprised to see the school that He once go to.

* * *

 **(INTERVIEW)**

 **"Ahhh, the Academy, really brings back a lot of memories. Still the place remains the same throughout this 20 years."**

 **-Boruto**

* * *

There was also a game of soccer being held on the academy grounds. As the cheers and yells of kids were being heard from a distance away. Boruto and Himawari couldn't helped themselves but to check and watch the soccer game. They were fond of sports to be honest.

The trio then decided to head to the academy grounds to take a closer look. As they walked towards their destination, they arrived at a quiet spot where there was a specific tree which a lone swing was attached to it.

"This seems oddly familiar." Boruto commented as He checked the swing out. It seemed that this swing itself emitted sad vibes which He really cannot explain right now.

"Isn't this the swing where Dad used to sit to when He was a Kid?" Himawari guessed. She somewhow remembered her mother telling her about this swing.

"Why would Lord Seventh spend his days here? I'm pretty sure He had a lot friends back then." Sarada wondered. She mean't that the seventh was a very famous person back in her timeline, She even had read an autobiography written about him back home and She just can't believed the fact that the man would spend his childhood days here.

For Boruto, His smile turned into sadness. He then remembered that his young dad was treated as an outcast as a child and Isolation was his only friend for most of the part.

There was this silence that took over for a brief moment. The trio just observed the area that they're in. It really seemed that there was really a kid that spent here for the rest of many hours all by himself.

A few moments later, the silence was then suddenly broken as around object headed straight towards the area that they're in right now. Everyone then turned around to face a single soccer ball that rolled towards them.

 **"Hey mister!"** The voice of a kid could be heard yelling at them.

The rest eventually looked up to face a group of kids who were waiting for him to give them back the ball. The group of kids were also behind a small chain link fence and all of them were looking at the time travelling trio.

"Is this your ball?" Boruto asked.

"Yup is our ball, You wanna play with us?" One of the kids straightforwardly asked.

Boruto blinked a couple of times. He was just offered to play a game of soccer with the kids at the academy.

"We really need one more people for both teams." One of the kids explained. Apparently, there were two kids who were supposed to be on the teams but one of the kids got a bad ankle and the other one is always late.

Meanwhile, Boruto took a glance at his little sister, who gave him an excited smile and a nod. He then turned back to the kids and gave them a thumbs up.

"Sure, Let's play!" The blonde young man said, which automatically caused the kids to be pleased as they can finally play a game of soccer with both teams with a completed roster.

As for the Uzumaki siblings, they were gonna really enjoy this.

* * *

 **(MEANWHILE)**

"Dammit, I'm late again!"

It was the only thing that Konohamaru could think off as He sped his way towards his destination, which was the academy itself. Apparently, He had woke up late yet again as his alarm clock was not enough to wake him up from whatever dream he is having.

The brown haired boy was a bit disappointed at himself, first he had promised to the team that he would not be late for today's scrimmage and yet he find himself racing against time yet again.

It didn't take him for too long as he finally reached his destination, who was in his team uniform didn't bother to used the entrance door as he jumped on the small fence which led straight to the exact field where the guys where holding their scrimmage.

"Hey guys wait for me! I'm already..." Konohamaru trailed off as he stopped his tracks only to find out that the guys had already started already with a couple of new additions.

"Who the heck are those guys!?" Konohamaru thought. He was shocked to see that there were newcomers to the field and they were not even part of the team or even the academy itself and they were teenagers!

* * *

 **(INTERVIEW)**

 **"The last time I remember, teenagers weren't aloud to hang around the school field! Except for Boss Naruto of course!"**

 **-Konohamaru**

* * *

 **(MEANWHILE)**

It was a game for the ages, at least for the Uzumaki siblings who were really enjoying the soccer game so far. They were apparently chosen as the go to guys in the game which means they were in charge of the scoring for most of the part, especially for the lavender haired girl.

Himawari surveyed her surroundings as She currently had the ball in her possesion and many players from the opposing team were really giving her the tough defense, which actually preferred. Some of the kids were even also trying to talk trash at her. The lavender haired girl smirked as she began to execute her moved by using her footwork to elude the opposing players. Her favorite moment was that she ankle break the trash talking kids, putting them on skates or just plain passing them by.

As for Boruto, He chose to not take the limelight as He stayed on being the team player that he is by pperforming this ridiculous but perfect timing passes to his teammates who were having the best chance to score **.** He really just loves to share and move the ball to his teammates.

Sarada watched the Uzumaki siblings as they played one game of soccer with the rest of the kids. With the both of them being in opposing teams and facing each other on the match.

The raven haired girl darted her eyes towards her blonde teammate. and observed him throughout the game. She gave a small smile as she can really see that the latter was enjoying his time with the kids.

She really had to admit that he kind of looks good when he was sweating and playing sports. It's like something that could be seen in commercials about athletes and stuff.

The last thing that she noticed about her blonde teammate was that He really had grown up into a handsome person over the years and despite the scars that He received, he still kept that Uzumaki charmed strong. There was something about him that made her intrigued.

Sarada then widened her eyes and immediately shook her head. Why was she thinking this way? This was so very inappropriate right at the moment and she found herself blushing about it for a bit.

Unbeknownst to her, a certain brown haired boy had just entered the scene.

* * *

 **(KIDS FIGHT)**

Konohamaru stood in the middle of the field with a serious looked as He attempted to interrupt and stop the whole game. He was really pissed that the other kids won't take noticed of him or they were just being mean and disrespectful.

He then started tripping every player that passed him by slowly disrupting the game itself. He eventually managed to get hold of the game ball itself by tripping another kid and snatching ball from the latter.

Automatically, the others have finally taken noticed of him, especially, The Uzumaki siblings, especially Boruto who immediately recognized him. " Konohamaru-sensei?" The blonde muttered.

Meanwhile, the brown haired boy himself stood there with his still serious face. He just wasn't going to be left behind. Not to long, one of the kids finally had enough and went on to confront of him.

"Hey, what the heck is your problem Konohamaru!?" A spiky black haired kid confronted the third's grandson.

"Can't you see We are playing a game here?" The spiky black haired kid added as He stood toe to toe against his fellow teammate.

"Come on Kenta ! You guys promised you'll be waiting for me no matter what!" Konohamaru argued. He thought they were a team.

"Waiting for you!? Yeah, Like waiting for a couple of hours until you get up from your bed!" The kid named "Kenta" replied back.

"Come on guys I thought we're supposed to be a team?" Konahamaru said. He was trying his best to reasoned out.

Kenta sighed." Hey I hate it to break it to you, but how can the team stay together when one of our teammates is just being careless and being Lazy." He said which really struck the brown haired boy right in the chest.

"Say that again?" Konohamaru asked. He was definitely triggered right now.

Kenta stood by his own word and dared to repeat it again." You should changed that attitude of yours, It's becoming a bad habit for the team, We don't want any kids like this even if they were the Grandson of a Hokage." He said.

Konohamaru finally had enough. He was just being insulted and the kid had crossed the line. He then suddenly grabbed the kid by the collar." Alright dude, you crossed the line!" He exclaimed.

"Come on, I'm not afraid of you!" The other replied back. He also grabbed the brown haired boy by the collar and together they went down on the ground trying to wrestle each other.

The other kids also took noticed and began to surrounded the two kids fighting. Boruto and Himawari immediately went towards the spot to break them up from this childish confrontation.

"Hey quit it-ttebassa!" Boruto exclaimed as He took hold of his young sensei who was very wild right at the moment. His little sister held the black haired kid, who was the first one to calm down.

Konohamaru immediately took noticed of the teenage blonde who was holding him. He instantly calmed down as He recognized the guy that looked like his boss, Naruto except for the white patches that He had in his cheeks.

"Naruto?" Konohamaru let out his first word since the fight stopped.

Boruto could only sighed." Hey kid, for the last time, My name is Bolt!" He corrected his young sensei. It was also weird for him to call his sensei a "Kid" but since He was in the past, He had no choice but to do so. However, the beef between the kids still continued.

"Hey guys, this kind of stuff will take you to nowhere if you keep on barking at each other!" Boruto explained. He tried his best to explain to the two kids that resolving this in a childish manner will lead them only to bruises in their faces.

"Hey what's going on here!?" A voice suddenly interrupted the conversation.

Everyone turned around to face a man of average height and build. He had black hair that he keeps in a ponytail, dark eyes and a scar that runs across the bridge of his nose — which he has had since his youth. He wears the standard Konoha shinobi outfit complete with forehead protector, sandals, and flak jacket. His sleeves are also rolled up about ¼ way.

Iruka was shocked to see what was happening right now. He was just on his way from the faculty only to discover that there was a commotion happening in the field. He was in fact the instructor for this subject which was called Physical Team Sports.

Silence had took over the whole area as everyone's eyes were directly towards the man. The rest of the kids immediately stood up straight and kept quiet.

"Good morning Iruka-sensei!" The kids yelled in unison.

Iruka could only sighed. He really doesn't what was going on right now . He is going to have a really long conversation with the rest later on. He then surveyed his surroundings and took noticed of the newcomers from way behind.

"Who are they?" Iruka asked as He found himself looking directly towards three teenagers, who were just quietly standing.

Boruto gulped as He and the two girls were stuck in a very awkward situation. He glanced at his little sister and raven haired teammate who were just being quiet. The blonde Uzumaki then sighed, He was going to be the spokesperson this time. He then raised his hand and gave a peace sign while giving that trademark Uzumaki grin.

"Hello there."

 **CHAPTER END**

* * *

 **AN: Thank your for reading the chapter:)**


	35. Arc 3: Surprises

**I don't own Naruto. Kishimoto Does.**

 **Author's note: Hey there Readers!, Looks like we've finally entered Arc 3! I Hope you guys enjoy! I would also like to thank you guys for the Reviews. Favorites, and follows :) Thank you for also sharing your tips and thoughts for the story.**

 **Take note: Recently, The beta reader for this story will be very busy for awhile. So that means I will be alone on writing story. I'm just a beginner writer so please go easy on me whenever there is a mistake in the story.**

 **Take note 2: This chapter was a bit challenging to write because of another writer's block but I'm glad that I was able to finish it.**

 **I also published a new story called " Anthology Story 1: Soul Transfer Jutsu" You can find it under my profile. Feel free to read the first chapter:)**

 **Thank you for Understanding :)**

 **Expect Grammar and Spelling mistakes**

 **P.S: I am just newbie so go easy on me**

* * *

 **Arc 3:**

 **Chapter 2: More Surprises**

The sound of hot tea being poured into a cup could be heard inside a quiet tea shop which was located a few walks away from the hospital, that a certain white haired spiky man was currently admitted into.

Jiraiya currently observed his surroundings as the man found himself in a scene that He had never seen before. Who knew that his former teammate would liked to have a cup of tea at the moment. It seemed that she was trying to change her lifestyle for a bit and drinking tea over a bottle of Sake is already surprising for him.

Tsunade drank and enjoyed her hot tea as she fully relaxed herself on her chair. This was actually the first time that she had done this alternative way of enjoying besides the usual gambling and getting herself drunk stuff. This was different.

Jiraiya stared at his former blonde teammate. He was surprised to see her away from the usual things that plague her life such as being lonely and depressed all the time. He was also glad to see that she was enjoying herself right now.

"So I guess you loved to drink Tea now. Did something changed you?" Jiraiya asked. He also took a sip of his own Hot tea which He also enjoyed.

"Oh." Tsunade said. She placed her hot cup of tea on the table and grabbed a tissue to clean her lips.

On the other hand, Jiraiya waited for her response. Before that, He asked himself on why she would want to talk to him privately right now? What was to talk about? Was

it something important?

Tsunade casually smiled." Well, There's really nothing to talk about. I just thought maybe we could have a nice cup of tea for awhile." She simply explained as she drank her tea.

In truth, She just really wanted to take the time and enjoy herself. She really have to thanked Sarada and Himawari for giving her advice and tips of how to stay away from the stressful life that had plague her for a long time. The lavender haired teen advice her to stay away from the drinking and gambling stuff while the Uchiha girl told her to take someone that she considered a loved one to a nice cup of hot tea at any shop.

The only person that came up into her mind or that she could think of was none other than her former spiky white haired teammate, who was in front of her and giving her a weird look.

Tsunade blushed for a bit when she realized that she considered Jiraiya as a loved one and indeed He really was a loved one. She considered herself as being a single for life since Dan passed away many years ago that really destroyed her spirit. From that day on, she never really knew what loved felt until her former teammate brought some it back. In fact, It was Jiraiya that helped her get through all of it for all those years and she considered him as the most truthful and caring friend that she had ever met despite his perverted and knucklehead nature.

Jiraiya on the other hand, was just giving the another weird looked once again. Apparently, Tsunade had gone back to her daydreaming yet again as she just began to randomly smile and stared at the blank space.

"Hey Tsunade are you alright?" He asked. However, there was no response coming from her. She was still in her daydreaming state.

"You've got to be kidding me." Jiraiya muttered. He was a bit weirded out. He tried to come up with a possible explanation for her sudden changed in personality and He deduced that the blonde Hokage had somehow met someone that she never told him about.

"Tsunade!" Jiraiya called her name once again and this time it worked.

Tsunade immediately snapped from her thoughts as she blinked a couple of times before meeting the eyes of the other. There was silence for a few seconds as she stared right into his eyes before finally shaking her head.

"Sorry about that, I'm just really tired." She simply said. She would go on to explained that she just recalled the tips and advices that the two girls gave to her and she was applying it right at the moment which actually works.

"Oh, the three new kids that you told me about." Jiraiya said. He was aware of three newcomers but He really had never seen or met them in person before.

Tsunade simply nodded. She also wondered on what will the latter's reaction be if He meets the trio, especially the Uzumaki siblings. So far she guessed that her former teammate would be in a state of disbelief upon learning the big revelation.

"So speaking of the three, what's their story by the way?" Jiraiya asked. He was curious about their backgrounds, How come they were instantly accepted as Shinobi that fast? Should they first undergo some kind of Chuunin exam first?

On the other hand, Tsunade was already prepared to tell him the usual fake story that the trio had but since It was the toad Sannin himself, the most trusted friend that she ever had, So why not tell the whole story and truth to him?

Jiraiya on the other hand waited yet again for the blonde woman's response in between the silent the moment, He took another sip from his cup of tea.

Tsunade took a deep breath and sighed. Was she really gonna do this yet again? and If yes, then she might as well start from the beginning until it reached towards the current situation today.

"Well to start off the story, The three kids are not what they seemed to be." She simply explained.

Jiraiya kept silent as He continued to listen as her story progresses. He had this smile of interest that remained on his face. He would then learned that the trio were oprhans and came from a faraway village that was destroyed by bandits and raiders.

He would then also learned that three had nowhere to go so Tsunade had them taken in the village to lived as normal citizens.

The white haired Sannin gave a sad looked as He began sympathized while Tsunade then took a deep breath yet again.

 _"Did I mention that they're actually from the future?"_

* * *

 **(INTERVIEW)**

 **"As soon as I heard the truth, my jaws just dropped. I didn't know what to say about this but I needed to find it out by myself."**

 **-Jiraiya**

* * *

All of his years as a teacher or an instructor in the school, He could consider that He was always going to be the mediator everytime there's fight or commotion happening in the academy. He could say that He was already used to these kinds of things. Although, This situation was a bit different than the rest of the commotions that He handled in the past.

Iruka observed and gave a stern look at the two boys that were wrestling each other just awhile ago. Both of them were looking down with guilty faces. They should've reconciled way before rather than continue the wrestling match.

There was silence that took over right at the moment. Iruka waited on who was going to speak up first before the two and apologized. Coincidentally, both of them turned their heads up and spoke at the time.

"I'm really sorry for what happened just now Iruka-sensei!" Both of them exclaimed in unison.

Iruka could only sighed." Alright, Just tell me what really happened? He said. He then would go on to learned that the fight started because of a simple broken alarm clock and an impatience from the black haired boy.

"I promise that I will buy a new clock that works Iruka-sensei!" Konohamaru said. He assured the man that He also won't staying up late again.

"I promise that I won't be impatient anymore Iruka-sensei!" Kenta said. He promised that He will wait for the third's grandson if He's this late again.

"Just please don't put us into detention!" They both exclaimed in unison. They really don't want to sweep the leaves again.

Iruka sighed once again. Surely, He will let this passed by because of a misunderstanding. His eyes then darted towards the three newcomers who were sitting on the wooden stands.

"They really looked familiar." Iruka muttered. He began to wonder about the three. It seemed so strange that He felt that He met them before but He just couldn't put his finger on it.

* * *

 **(INTERVIEW)**

 **"My memory has been all juggled up by the stress that I didn't recognized the persons that I have met before.**

 **-Iruka**

* * *

 **(MEANWHILE)**

The time travelling trio sat down on the wooden stands of the soccer field. They felt that they were being lined up for trial for the crime of preventing the commotion to escalate just awhile ago. They were also currently in their own thoughts, thinking about on what was gonna happen next.

Boruto thought of being put into detention for the first time since he was at the academy. He recalled those good old times of being caught after he perfomed series of creative pranks on some wannabe bullies. He gave a smile as he fondly remembered on he pranked one of them just to save a bully victim.

Himawari on the other hand, had never been into a detention before. She just sat there wondering on what will detention be like. Would they be cleaning every room in the academy or will they just write a number of sentences on the chalk board?

Sarada thought of being in her first detention ever of her life. She really had never been into detention before. She had these streak of perfect attendance and good conduct. She wondered on why she was going to be put into detention when she is already a teenager and not a kid anymore.

A little while later, A certain someone finally entered the scene. All three then looked up to face Iruka himself and all eyes were on him now. There was silence that took over as the trio waited for him to speak.

Iruka then sighed." You guys don't have to apologized. The two boys told me that you were the ones that prevented their fight from escalating." He explained. He was glad they were here to break up the fight.

"So I guess I'll be the one to apologized." Iruka said. He would go on to explained that situations like this would often happened in the academy especially.

All of the trio's eyes widened their eyes in surprised. They didn't expect that the future principal of the academy would be the one apologizing to them.

"You know, you three kinda looked familiar, Have we met before?" Iruka asked. He really felt that he had seen them before.

Boruto, who took up the role as the spokesperson of the group yet again and smiled.

"I'm pretty sure we have sir." Boruto replied. He was secretly referring to Iruka who was a very close friend of the Uzumaki family back in the future.

"Really?" Iruka wondered as He scratched his head recalling if the He had really met the trio before.

A few moments later, He finally recalled that he indeed seen or met one of the trio and it was none other than the blonde himself that he was talking to right now.

"Are you the ones that came from the faraway village that Lady Tsunade told me about?" Iruka asked. He finally remembered that time when he had met the blonde at the Hokage office.

Boruto simply nodded." Yes sir and I supposed that this will be our second meeting." He said. It's been a quite awhile since he had last seen his Uncle Iruka, who would be the future principal of the academy in about 20 years time.

"Oh well then, you don't have to call me Sir or Mr. Umino, Just plain "Iruka-sensei" would do the job." Iruka simply explained. He didn't really like being called in a very formal way. He was just not used to it.

Boruto then smiled." Well, it's very nice to meet you Iruka-sensei, My name is Bolt, and this is my little sister, Himawari and friend, Sarada." The teenage blonde said as he introduced the two girls to the latter.

"Hello." Himawari greeted with a cheerful smile while Sarada shyly waved her hands on the future principal.

With all of the doubts and questions aside. It was safe to say that the door for a conversation was finally opened. As for Iruka, He would really liked to get to know the trio more.

* * *

 **(A SHOCKING TRUTH)**

Jiraiya was at loss for words. He didn't really knew what to say right now. In fact, He almost dropped his cup of tea as he was placed in a state of disbelief right at the moment. He began to repeat the blonde woman's statement inside his mind.

"They are from the future."

The white haired Sannin really couldn't get over what she had said to him. He was pretty sure that she was just trying her best to cracked a joke but then again, Was she serious about this

"So you're telling me that these three kids are from the future?" He asked while the other just simply nodded.

"That's a nice joke Tsunade, I guess you've finally invented time travel huh?" Jiraiya slightly chuckled. He tried to go with the flow but He suddenly sensed that the blonde woman was actually serious about this.

Tsunade on the other hand, didn't wasted her time as she then presented a brown envelope which contained the full evidence which were none other than the DNA results of the time travelling trio.

Jiraiya grabbed the envelope, He then first examined the thing and noticed that "Top Secret" was labeled on the very middle of the envelope. He then opened its contents and drew out a number of documents which contained some kind of evidence to prove that the trio were from the future.

As He began to read the documents, His eyes slowly widened in shocked as he just realized that this was indeed true. By just reading the DNA test results which were authentic, this was really starting to get crazier as he reads the rest of its contents and when He got to to testimony section of the document, He would then go on to learn their names and their real backgrounds.

He first learned that the main leader of the group, known as Boruto, was actually the future son of his student while the other girl, named Himawari was his daughter. So that would be mean that they are siblings and that would make himself the unofficial godfather of the two.

The other girl was known as Sarada, and she was actually the daughter of Sasuke Uchiha, and that would make her automatically an Uchiha which was stranged because there were only a couple of Uchihas left since the night of the massacre that took place many years ago.

The most compelling evidence of all of this is none other than the DNA test itself which perfectly matched Naruto and Sasuke's DNA.

Jiraiya sighed as he placed the documents on the table. He had already read too much information and He felt that his brain was gonna explode at any moment.

* * *

 **(INTERVIEW)**

 **"Well, I have heard a lot of far fetched stories in my lifetime, but this has to be the most farthest fetch of them all so far.**

 **-Jiraiya**

* * *

"Alright, I believed you but there is one thing I want to know, Who did Naruto end up with?" He asked with full curiousness in his eyes.

Tsunade just sighed and shook her head." Well, if you want to know, you gonna have to find out by yourself." She simply explained as she drank her tea.

Jiraiya on the other hand made a face. Curiosity had him fully taken over. He really wanted know more about the trio especially, the Uzumaki siblings.

The white haired sage had to admit that He was living in a world full of surprises.

There was another silence that took over yet again. Both of them neither said a word until something came up into the blonde woman's mind.

"So pulling this aside, How's everything so far with your intelligence network, Any new cases to investigate?" Tsunade asked.

Jiraiya sighed." Well, if you are asking me about the Akatsuki, then there's still no lead yet on who is their true leader, I still have to search for new real evidence." He explained. So far the organization itself is getting more craftier with the hide and seek game.

"I just hope that I don't get myself killed by one of them." He added. He knew that this was going to be life risking.

"So what about you? Any new Hokage stuff lately?" Jiraiya asked.

Tsunade then took a deep a breath." Well, I'am going to assign a team soon for their next mission." She said as she was referring to Team Kakashi.

"I've already found a replacement instructor for Team Kakashi on this mission." She added.

Jiraiya raised an eyebrow in confusion.' So what's the mission all about?"

Tsunade took another deep breath again as she began to explained the details of the mission to him. Apparently, Sasori of the sand village had told Sakura about the location of a spy which formerly worked for Orochimaru, and through the spy, they can finally know the whereabouts of the missing nin, Sasuke Uchiha.

"Oh I see, Looks like former Akatsuki member is living a normal life now, How's that even possible?" Jiraiya asked. He just can't believed that this was happening. A former criminal repenting from his past.

Tsunade sighed." Well, that's what we call "Life", You either see yourself lose hope or lived one day to see yourself getting redeemed." She explained.

Jiraiya then smiled." Well, Hopefully I would like to see myself living a peaceful life when all of this Shinobi stuff is over, I really gotta focus myself on the creative side of things." He slightly chuckled.

He really wanted to continue his life as a writer and novelist after when retirement finally arrives.

* * *

 **(BONDING)**

The day continued on uneventful as noon finally came which meant that lunch time had arrived. Somehwere in a certain ramen shop, Iruka found himself eating the delicious ramen that he grew up with along with the three teenagers.

Iruka smiled as he would soon discover that these three were actually fun to hangout with. Fueled by the Uzumaki siblings' humour, He could say the conversation was getting better. It felt like He had known them for a very long time even though, He had just officially met them.

"I'm really sorry about Konohamaru, He is just the Kid that He is to be." Iruka explained. His student was an exact carbon copy of Naruto when He was a kid.

"No worries Iruka-sensei, Konohamaru is actually a great kid, I think He just needs real friends." Boruto said. He noticed that his young sensei was being looked down all the time.

"Is that so?" Iruka asked.

"Yup, I think He really needs someone to hang out with, Bolt is the perfect candidate I guess." Sarada slightly chuckled as she winked at her blonde teammate.

Boruto could only sighed. He began to wonder if his young sensei do have parents. Because He really never saw anyone at his sensei's house besides the fact that he was the only one there when he visited the latter during his genin days.

"Well, to be honest, Konohamaru would often keep secrets from anyone, When I asked him about his parents, He would just say that they are out of town." Iruka said. He began to recall the time he visited the boy's house only find out that He was all alone living there.

The only information that he knew was that his parents were both Elite Jounin that were part of the Konoha Anbu Division.

"Iruka-sensei, do you think that Konohamaru could be an Orphan?" Himawari asked. An idea had came into her mind.

Iruka sighed." We might never know, but if you guys want to find out more, you can just visit his home." He explained.

* * *

 **(INTERVIEW)**

 **"Konohamaru-sensei often hides a lot of things. It's his habit to be honest, the guy has too many secrets than the old man does." (Chuckles)**

 **-Boruto**

* * *

 **(SURPRISES)**

It was a very tiring day at least for Konohamaru himself. After the commotion that happened in the field, All things went back to normal and He went through the daily rituals of studying and learning in school.

It was about pass noon when school was finally dismissed. He found himself currently walking along the streets of the village as he headed towards his home which was situated in a very quiet area of the village.

The boy had been already used to this. Walking alone was just the usual stuff for him. In fact, He considered himself as just an ordinary normal kid even though He was the third's grandson. Of course, like many kids, He had parents of his own but the only problem is that they were not always around for him.

In fact, He had never actually met them in person. The only thing that he knew so far about them was that they were elite jounins from the Anbu division and they would go into this dangerous missions that were considered life-risking.

He was raised by his uncle Asuma for most of his life. As for his parents, He didn't even received a message or letter from them thus He began to suspect that they are never ever going to come back.

A small tear fell from the boy's eye. He began to wonder on what would it be like to have parents of his own. A loving mother that would be waiting for him in the house or a father that he would like to spend time with.

As Konohamaru reached a certain area, He suddenly stopped his tracks as he found himself in an area that was deemed dangerous for kids to go to. The area was revealed to be a an alleyway which was locally dubbed as " The Alleyway of Death." It was also a shortcut to the boy's home.

The name came to existence when people going through this alleyway find themselves being attacked by aggressive stray dogs that resided within the area. No one would really dare to go though the area or else they were gonna get free rabies.

Konohamaru took a deep breath. He wasn't afraid of any stray dogs or whatsoever because He was a shinobi himself. Although, He already had an experience of being bitten by a dog once but He did not get the experience of being chased and bitten by multiple aggressive dogs at once.

As the boy took the first few steps, He felt the atmosphere around him was slowly changing. The alleyway itself was already scary and add it with agressive dogs, things could get more worst.

As time passes by, Shivers began to ran down his spine. He had never been into this kind of place before and this was in fact the first time. He would always take the long cut but He now found himself taking the scary shortcut.

As He finally neared the exit area, He stopped his tracks as He stumbled upon a group of sleeping stray dogs in front of him.

Konohamaru widened his eyes in shocked. He truly never expected this to happen. They were just so many of them sleeping. Although, the good news was that He can easily passed by them if he were to remain quiet as possible.

Not wasting anytime, the boy immediately made his move by not making any sound or whatsoever. It took him about a couple of minutes before he finally passed all of them and He was finally on his way towards the end of the alleyway.

He could feel his heart beating fast evem though He was almost out. However, fate would intervene when He accidentally stepped on an empty can of soda that made the only sound that instantly woke up the dogs.

"Oh crap." Konohamaru muttered as he began to hear the angry growls of the dogs.

He slowly turned his head around only to face the recently awaken angry dogs that were growling at him.

Konohamaru could only give a nervous grin as He knew that he just screwed up.

He took a few steps back until he finally turned around and bursted away from the scene and at the same time, it also triggered the dogs to chased him down all the way towards the end.

Panic and Fear hindered Konohamau from using his jutsus. He was just so focused on running that he unknowingly stepped on something and tripped down on the ground.

The boy cringed in pain as he hurt his knees. He stayed on the ground as he darted his eyes towards his front to see the angry dogs finally reaching into him.

Konohamaru could only closed his eyed as he waited for whats to come to him. But suddenly another presence had unknowingly entered the scene.

* * *

 **(INTERVIEW)**

 **"I thought I was going to be eaten alive by them dogs. I never knew I had a guardian angel or somesort."**

 **-Konohamaru**

* * *

The sounds of the barking turned into frightful noises. The boy then opened his eyes only to be greeted by a new presence in front of him.

Konohamaru widened his eyes to see some kind of furry animal in about the size of the dogs. It had nine long swiping tails. It has red-orange fur with black fur around its eyes that stretches to its ears, red irises with black slits for pupils and the upper-body structure of a human, complete with opposable thumbs on its clawed hands. Its overall appearance was leaner and softer while less-defined in shape with a rounder face, akin to a some kind of cub.

He then began to realized that animal itself was some kind of fox. But He wasn't on what kind of breed was it. Meanwhile, the dogs scrammed away from the scene. In fact, they were all instantly scared or even afraid of the fox.

Konohamaru then slowly moved and grabbed his bag, by the time he stood up, the fox had turned around to face him. The boy was shaking in fear. He really hoped that this fox won't bite him.

There was a brief silence between the boy and the fox. Konohamaru observed the cute animal as it appeared to be weary and exhausted from everything.

He was about to open his mouth to thank the fox when it suddenly spoke.

" **Are you alright kid?"** The fox spoke which really freaked the boy out.

Konohamaru was taken over by surprised." Yeah I'm fine and...Wait You can talk!?" He exclaimed. He was freaking out right now.

The fox, which appeared to have male raspy voice spoke. **" Of course I can talk, never heard or seen a talking fox before?"** He sarcastically asked.

"No not really." The boy replied back as he then began to observed his surroundings and realized something.

His eyes widened in surprised. "Cool! is this where you really lived?" He asked.

The talking fox sighed." **Well, not necessarily because I prefer moving from place to place."** He explained as he proceeded to leave the area.

"Hey, where are you going?" Konohamaru asked.

" **To somehwere where I can fill my empty stomach.** " The fox replied.

"You can come with me to my house, There's a lot of food there you can eat!" The boy replied back.

The fox's ears lit up and He stopped its tracks as He turned around to face the boy again with an eyebrow raised. **" Tell me, What's your name kid?"** He asked.

"It's Konohamaru, what about yours?" The boy replied back.

There was a brief moment of silence yet again. The fox closed his eyes for a short while before opening it and giving the boy a smirked.

 **"You can call me Kurama."**

* * *

 **CHAPTER ENDS**

 **AN: Thank you for reading the chapter :)**


	36. Arc 3: A New Friend Part 1

**I don't own Naruto. Kishimoto Does.**

 **Author's note: Hey there Readers!, Looks like we've finally entered Arc 3! I Hope you guys enjoy! I would also like to thank you guys for the Reviews. Favorites, and follows :) Thank you for also sharing your tips and thoughts for the story.**

 **Take note: Recently, The beta reader for this story will be very busy for awhile. So that means I will be alone on writing story. I'm just a beginner writer so please go easy on me whenever there is a mistake in the story.**

 **Take note 2: This chapter was a bit challenging to write because of another writer's block but I'm glad that I was able to finish it. I've also read an Awesome fanfic called " Reanimation" by clarityace, and this is where I got the idea on How will Naruto be eventually met his end. But of course, there is still hope for him to survive. Anything is possible.**

 **I also published a new story called " Anthology Story 1: Soul Transfer Jutsu" You can find it under my profile. Feel free to read the first chapter:)**

 **Thank you for Understanding :)**

 **Expect Grammar and Spelling mistakes**

 **P.S: I am just newbie so go easy on me**

* * *

 **Arc 3:**

 **Chapter 3 : A New Friend Part 1**

 **(Earlier That Day)**

" _That good for nothing fox stole my fish again! Stop It!"_

 _Yells and curses can be heard throughout a public wet market as chaos abruptly took over the usual business of the market's vendors and customers. Apart from the common noisy and chaotic atmosphere of the place, Stall owners found themselves staring at their products in shock as majority of them were scattered all over the ground because of a certain furry fox._

 _"Somebody catch that fox! It ransacked my stall!"_

 _The yells didn't stop from there, some of the vendors had already banded together on catching a certain red-orange furry nine-tailed fox, which ran around the wet market for its life and also for the means to escape._

 _Kurama observed his current surroundings as He looked for a way out of this place. He was also carrying his fish, which he stole a little while ago, through his mouth. He really had to admit that this was the biggest fish that he had yet so far._

 _Meanwhile, the band of vendors continued to attract members and the group eventually grew into a small mob. Kurama who had expected this, finally thought of plan to finally get away from them. His plan was just simple, try to confused and elude the small mob of vendors chasing him._

 _The good thing about the plan is that He still has a little bit of chakra inside of him, which he immediately tapped in to create an exact shadow clone of himself that appeared in a puff of smoke beside him._

 _Meanwhile, the small mob of vendors were taken by surprised as they suddenly found themselves looking at two foxes in front of them. Some of the members of the mob were overtaken by confusion or some were just dumbfounded to assumed that the fox had an accomplice._

 _"They are two of them!" One of the members from the mob exclaimed._

 _Kurama could only smirked as his plan finally worked. He then instructed his clone to head to another direction and thus they split. On the other hand, the small mob of vendors split up to catch the other one while the main group stayed and focused on catching the main one._

 _After a few moments, The crimson fox finally found himself at the exit, and while still being chase by the mob, He then finally decided to go full speed as he finally escaped the mob of angry vendors that were chasing him._

 _"Idiots." Kurama gave a smirked as He dispelled the clone that he summoned just now._

 _It was now safe to say that Kurama could finally have his lunch. The only problem that He has right now is finding a place or spot to eat his fish in peace._

* * *

 _( **INTERVIEW)**_

 _ **"For those who don't know me, I'm Kurama, just your everyday fox that loves to wreck havoc people's lives. I don't really know how I found myself in this kind of situation but my tummy is demanding for food so I have no choice.**_

 _ **-Kurama**_

* * *

 _ **(LATER ON)**_

 _It was a very peaceful and sunny day throughout village of the hidden leaves. The shops were in their usual business as the customers continued to flocked them. Families and couples were also happily spending time together._

 _Kurama's crimson eyes observed the current crowd as He headed towards his destination, which was his home. Temporary home to be exact. Besides the occasional looks from curious children, He wondered on why the people here of this time wasn't taking noticed of him despite the fact that he was the Kyuubi No Youku himself and He was carrying a fish on his mouth._

 _It was a thing that Kurama couldn't even explain even to himself. He knew that the Kyuubi incident was still fresh in most of the villagers mind even though 15 years had already passed since. He just didn't knew on whether He should be confused or amused but it was a good thing that He was invisible from the villagers' eyes._

 _Kurama really had to admit that He wasn't the one that intentionally attacked the village. In fact, it was that damn Uchiha crooked that made him do it. Even though, He had a resentment towards humans before, He would never attacked a village for no reason. He wasn't that stupid._

 _After several distances of travelling, Kurama finally reached his destination. It was an alleyway that stretched long towards the other side. However, It wasn't the alleyway itself that he was exactly going to but it was a rooftop of a building which was situated in the very area. There was this set of mettalic stairs that was attached on the building and that led him to his exact destination, which was his safe place._

 _Kurama wasted no time as He jumped from his former position towards the metallic stairs. It didn't took him a long time as he finally reached the rooftop of the said building and once he got there,_

 _He was greeted by the silent and peaceful windy atmosphere that he was expecting._

 _Kurama sat down at his usual preferred spot which was located near the end of rooftop, which was had an entire view of the long alleyway. He heard rumours that this alleyway was considered dangerous for passers by and anyone that would go in here, will be attacked by angry animals._

 _"Oh you mean the stray dogs." Kurama thought. He knew the real truth about this place. Those animals that were attacking people here were just a group of stray dogs from every place in the village that eventually found itselves in this alleyway thus a community of them was formed._

 _Kurama shook his head. He really had no time to think about this right now. All He had on his mind was about the fish that He was going to eat to fill in his empty stomach. He wasn't going to let any thoughts prevent him from doing anything._

 _Not even Kami himself._

 _He knew that He was going to live the rest of his life like just one of the stray animals in the village. He was not the powerful Kyuubi No Youku anymore and since he was stripped from his power and was unexpectedly sent here had no choice but moved on_

* * *

 ** _(INTERVIEW)_**

 ** _"Life has been tough to be honest, I just didn't care no more, even if I'm in the past, there's not much I can do."_**

 ** _-Kurama_**

* * *

 _However, as He was about to open his mouth to take a bite on the fish, Fate would intervene as He was suddenly interrupted by a certain group of winged feathery creatures that landed in front of the fox._

 _Kurama looked up to see a a group of fish-eating birds that arrived near his spot. He narrowed his eyes as he examined the group of birds that were directly staring at his breakfast and they seemed to be all hungry._

 _Kurama narrowed his eyes in annoyance." Hey fellas, If you wanna eat some fish, got get yourselves somewhere, this is not for you." He told the group of birds who were just there and continued to stare._

 _He then shook his head as he then proceeded back to take his first bite on the fish. Although, He was suddenly interrupted yet again._

 _"Meow!"_

 _Kurama stopped himself from taking his first bite as he then looked up from his left to see a couple of cats that were also looking and watching him directly eat the fish. The two cats had a looked of hunger on their faces._

 _"Am I that Famous?" He commented. Everybody was just here to watch him._

 _Kurama sensed that He was really being targeted here, especially his fish. He really wanted to eat his breakfast right now and He was being prevented to do so. After a few moments, the group of birds and the two cats surprisingly left, leaving him alone again._

 _Kurama widened his eyes in surprised. He never expected this to happened but the good thing was that he can finally eat his breakfast in peace once again._

 _The silence had came back. It was only him, his breakfast, and the wind that was left. Kurama wasted no time as he opened his mouth wide to take his long awaited first bite._

 _As He was about to take this first bite, He was suddenly interrupted yet again. This time it was someone yelling for help. Kurama widened his eyes as He realized that it was some kid's voice that was yelling for help, and it was followed by the loud barking of dogs._

 _Kurama then decided to leave his breakfast for awhile to take a good look to see what was really going on. He then headed to the viewing spot of the rooftop to discover that there's a kid being chased by the group of angry dogs, living in the area._

 _Kurama raised an eyebrow, To him, the kid really looked familiar but He just can't seemed to figure it out yet. He then continued to observed for a few short while to see what was gonna happen next. He was already thinking of helping the kid if anything bad happens._

 _However there was suddenly another commotion happening from behind. Kurama then turned around only to see the group of birds and two cats having a tug of war. "You've got to be kidding me!" He yelled in shocked._

 _Apparently, His only breakfast was now being devoured by them. Kurama could only sighed and shook his head." Oh whatever!" He said to himself._

 _He then turned back to the main commotion to see that boy had tripped and was now on the ground while the group of angry dogs were nearing him. Realizing that his breakfast was gone, Kurama then decided to choose the other path and jumped down from the rooftop to help the boy._

 _Before that, He suddenly felt pain on his back. Kurama cringed." Damn, I must be getting old!" He commented. He had been experiencing back problems since he had arrived here and He doesn't know why._

 _By the time the pain faded away, Kurama then made his move and jumped from the rooftop. He safely landed on the ground betweem the boy and the group of angry dogs_.

* * *

Konohamaru could only closed his eyed as he waited for whats to come to him. But suddenly another presence had unknowingly entered the scene.

The sounds of the barking turned into frightful noises. The boy then opened his eyes only to be greeted by a new presence in front of him.

Konohamaru widened his eyes to see some kind of furry animal in about the size of the dogs. It had nine long swiping tails. It has red-orange fur with black fur around its eyes that stretches to its ears, red irises with black slits for pupils and the upper-body structure of a human, complete with opposable thumbs on its clawed hands. Its overall appearance was leaner and softer while less-defined in shape with a rounder face, akin to a some kind of cub.

He then began to realized that animal itself was some kind of fox. But He wasn't on what kind of breed was it. Meanwhile, the dogs scrammed away from the scene. In fact, they were all instantly scared or even afraid of the fox.

Konohamaru then slowly moved and grabbed his bag, by the time he stood up, the fox had turned around to face him. The boy was shaking in fear. He really hoped that this fox won't bite him.

There was a brief silence between the boy and the fox. Konohamaru observed the cute animal as it appeared to be weary and exhausted from everything.

He was about to open his mouth to thank the fox when it suddenly spoke.

" **Are you alright kid?"** The fox spoke which really freaked the boy out.

Konohamaru was taken over by surprised." Yeah I'm fine and...Wait You can talk!?" He exclaimed. He was freaking out right now.

The fox, which appeared to have male raspy voice spoke. **" Of course I can talk, never heard or seen a talking fox before?"** He sarcastically asked.

"No not really." The boy replied back as he then began to observed his surroundings and realized something.

His eyes widened in surprised. "Cool! is this where you really lived?" He asked.

The talking fox sighed." **Well, not necessarily because I prefer moving from place to place."** He explained as he proceeded to leave the area.

"Hey, where are you going?" Konohamaru asked.

" **To somehwere where I can fill my empty stomach.** " The fox replied.

"You can come with me to my house, There's a lot of food there you can eat!" The boy replied back.

The fox's ears lit up and He stopped its tracks as He turned around to face the boy again with an eyebrow raised. **" Tell me, What's your name kid?"** He asked.

"It's Konohamaru, what about yours?" The boy replied back.

There was a brief moment of silence yet again. The fox closed his eyes for a short while before opening it and giving the boy a smirked.

 **"You can call me Kurama."**

* * *

 **(WITH JIRAIYA)**

As the day continued on its way towards the afternoon. A certain long spiky white haired man with a purpose walked through the streets of the village. His dark brown eyes observed a small note that contained detailed address to the time travelling trio's home.

"Hmmm, Where is this Evergreen Street?"

Jiraiya scratched the back of his head as he attempted to figure out the location of this street. He had to admit that this street was very difficult to find. In truth, He really didn't knew every place in the village, except for common ones such as the Hokage building and the public hot spring that he would always go to for research purposes.

He already spent a couple of hours traversing every street that he knew just to find that apartment that the trio lived in.

Jiraiya scratched his head." Tsunade, Why would you provide me a location that is hard to find?" He asked. Tsunade did really played the jokes on him, She really had tricks up on her sleeved to put him in this kind of situation.

The question is if He should continue the search or just call it a day?

* * *

 **(INTERVIEW)**

 **"I've been circling around the village for about an hour and still I could't find the damn street or maybe Tsunade gave me the wrong address...Man I wish she was here to help.**

 **-Jiraiya**

* * *

"So this is the Memorial Site."

Boruto currently observed his surroundings as He strolled around the park that would be known as the "Konoha Memorial Park." It was place were all the people that were significant to a memory or an important event in history were rested here.

The place was quiet and indeed peaceful, there weren't much people around here at this hour but overall it was comfortable place for anyone who would want to take sometime alone.

Boruto could feel the loneliness and sadness in this place. As He looked at every grave, He began to wonder each of their stories. These people must've been courageous and loved the so much village that they were willing to sacrifice their lives so that their home would be safe.

Boruto gave a sorrowful face. Thoughts were now entering his mind yet again. He began to imagine on how the families of these deceased Heroes handled this. It must've been really difficult for them to lose their loved ones.

The blonde hated to say this but most of these Heroes met a tragic end. He really hated to see lives being ended so abruptly. These people should be living promising lives and they should be living happily with their families and loved ones. They really don't deserved this kind of ending.

Boruto then darted his eyes towards the his little sister and teammate who were currently with his Uncle/Principal Iruka, who was offering flowers to his parents on certain spot at the memorial.

Boruto gave a sad smile, He almost forgot that his dad's former teacher was also an orphan. He heard that the man's parents gave their lives during the Nine-tails incident many years ago.

"Just like Grandpa and Grandma." Boruto muttered. He suddenly remembered his grandparents that he had never met before in his whole life. The old photos give him the idea of what they looked like but he had no knowledge of what kind of persons they were. Even his dad didn't have the chance to meet them, they died during the Nine-tails incident giving up their lives to protect their only son.

Boruto then wondered if his young dad already knew about his parents or maybe He wasn't just aware of it. He also wondered if his dad already knew about Kurama, who was all along sealed inside of him.

Speaking of Kurama, He recalled that the big fox himself was fighting the mysterious enemies that invaded the village back in the future and especially Kawaki, the person who was the one responsible for the destruction.

If his old man didn't adopted him in the first place then none of this would have happened. His old man just liked adopting kids that were either had a bad past or were just outsiders to begin with. He treated Kawaki is if He was his own son to begin with and He didn't knew that He would one day suffer the consequences from the hands of the boy he took care as a member of the family.

Getting back to Kurama, His past self was very much a different person compared to the more relax and funny of himself from the future. He recalled that his dad used to summon him to a miniature pet version of himself and then he would get cuddled by Himawari.

If He was really here with them, Himawari would be so much happier than ever.

* * *

 **(INTERVIEW)**

 **"Kuu-chan was awesome and still is today! He would be a cute addition to the team if he were here with us."**

 **-Boruto**

* * *

Kurama never expected to be in this kind of situation. Apprently, they were supposed to be heading to the kid's home but instead they were at the local park and He currently found himself being cuddled by a lot of cute children.

" **You've got to be kidding me.** " Kurama, with a deadpanned expression commented.

He finally recognized the kid that he met back at the alleyway. The name Konohamaru ringed a bell for him but his antics helped him realized that this kid was none other than Naruto's unofficial protege. Apparently, the kid suddenly had an empty stomach along the way and so they stopped by at the local park to eat some snacks and ice cream from a nearby food stall.

" **Hey, watch the tails!** " Kurama annoyingly said as couple of kids were playing with his nine tails.

After awhile, the kids were then called by their parents and Kurama was left there a little bit shaggy and a bit ruined. He just wanted to cry because he can't handle the kids anymore because they were treating him like some stuff teddy bear.

At the same time, Konohamaru finally came back with the dangos and two large cups of ice cream and placed them on the park bench." Sorry about that, I just felt a little hungry, that's all." He grinned.

Kurama sighed." **Don't worry, just keep eating and you'll get fat like that guy who always eat potato chips everyday."** He commented as he was referring to a certain Chouji Akimichi.

Konohamaru chuckled." You're really good at making jokes, ya know that." He said.

" **Yeah, whatever but tell me kid are you always this alone?"** Kurama asked as he took a dango by his using his tails and ate it.

"Well, I'm not really that of a loner, I got some friends but when I'm in the house, Maybe I gotta say that I'm alone." Konohamaru explained as He ate his ice cream, which was vanilla flavour sprinkled with bits of chocolates.

Kurama widened his eyes in surprised." **Where are your parents then?"**

Konohamaru just gave a sad." I really don't know." He replied. He would go on to explained that his parents were elite shinobi that belonged to the Anbu Division and they were always away with their missions. The boy was actually raised mostly by his Uncle and Grandfather.

Kurama could only sympathized with the boy. He really didn't want to spill out the beans to him and tell him that his parents were either both missing or never coming back. He just gave a sad smile.

"So what about you? What's your story?"

Kurama could only sighed, He never thought that He was gonna tell his story from the beginning and since that he was aware that he was in the past, He might changed a few things to make his story sensible to anyone.

 **"Well, I actually came from a family of foxes that lived in a temple somewhere in the forest, courtesy of mother nature."** He explained as he was referring during time when he was still living at the temple that Hagomoro had sent him to.

"A temple? You mean like where those monks lived?" A surprised Konohamaru asked.

Kurama simply nodded." **Yeah pretty much, It's actually somewhere in the land of fire.** " He added.

"Awesome! But How did you end up here?" Konohamaru asked. He wondered why He would choose leave his home.

Kurama sighed yet again. He wasn't that good of a storyteller himself but he still continued anyway. He would then explained that there were numerous attempts to invade and ransacked the temple, most the attempts were unsuccessful because of him. He was the guardian of this temple and many were afraid because of his reputation for creating disasters.

* * *

 **(INTERVIEW)**

 **"Just to let ya know that this story is all true and I'm not lying, I like my previous job as a guardian of a shrine.**

 **-Kurama**

* * *

"Woah! You're really a guardian of that temple!? How cool is that!" Konhamaru exclaimed. He was amazed to think that this cute fox was considered a guardian of a place.

Kurama slightly smiled and shook his head. " **Yeah, it's cool.** " He said. He would then continue his story on how he end up all the way here.

 **"Eventually, the temple got destroyed because of some guy named "Madara" and found myself surviving and escaping the destruction."** He explained.

He would then insert his made up story of hitchiking into a cargo wagon that was coincidentally on its way to the village and from that then on he spent the rest of his life living in the village as one of the stray animals here.

"That's really sad ending for you." Konohamaru commented as he took a scoop of ice cream towards his mouth.

Kurama sighed." **It's doesn't get anymore sadder than this.** " He thought.

In fact, the true story was that Kurama himself actually came from 20 years into the future. The future that he was living in was very different from the time right now. The world was more peaceful and there were barely wars happening which was a good thing for every village and country until all that changed when a kid named "Kawaki" arrived into their lives.

Kurama observed his surroundings once again. He darted his eyes to every thing that he can see. The memories were slowly returning as he freshly remembered the events, especially Naruto's untimely sacrifice.

* * *

 **(Flashback Memory)**

 _Destruction was the word that Kurama could only used to describe the current state of the village. The place was just now a shell of its former self. Everything was now gone. It was only him and his friend, Naruto, who were still standing amongst the ruins of the village._

 _Kurama gave all that he has got as He battled the enemy forces that had invaded and attacked the village, He wasn't sure of their purpose here but He got the feeling that their actual target was Naruto and himself. They were currently fighting in seperate ways as the fox was busy handling the combined enemy forces of the village, including the Kara organization and others._

 _Kurama, who reverted back to miniature form darted his eyes towards Naruto, who was fighting Kawaki himself. The fox widened his eyes in surprised as He noticed that the blonde was apparently holding back._

 _"What the hell is He doing?" Kurama wondered. The kid was considered an enemy, why wouldn't the blonde just give his full power to defeat him._

 _Kurama narrowed his eyes, He already knew what to do and that is head there and help his friend. He has thought of the possibility of bringing Naruto and the rest of the family away from here. He knew that at some point, They will eventually fall down._

 _He knew that he had still time. Hinata, Himawari, Sarada and the rest were at the safe zone protecting the surviving civilians. If He could only just snatched Naruto quickly and get away from here._

 _As Kurama was about to the transform back into his original large form to help and save the blonde when He was suddenly prevented from doing so._

 _At that very same time, Naruto knew that He can't bring himself to kill Kawaki and He used the little time that He had to turned around directly towards Kurama, He then gave a smile and nod, telling him go on his own and take the rest of the family away from these village. He also had Kurama released from the seal so that he could roam freely and escape._

 _Kurama was shocked. He really wanted to save the blonde, but He had no choice but just to follow his instructions. There was a tear that fell from the fox's eyes and a few moments later, He saw Kawaki, who made the final move and stabbed the blonde right into the chest._

 _Naruto's strength slowly faded away as He knelt down on the ground, while Kawaki stood in front and just watched him with merciless eyes._

 _" **NARUTO!"**_

 _Kurama was screaming from the inside his mind. He felt his anger boiling up from inside of him. He was about to go berserk and wrecked havoc when he suddenly remembered his current goal. Completely devastated inside, the fox could only calmed himself down. He needed to focus on his goal and not do anything stupid._

 _Before leaving the area, He felt a presence from a few distances away and He turned his eyes towards the source of that presence. Kurama widened his eyes as He saw a lone mysterious human figure that was just standing on top of a small hill of debris and rubble._

 _He couldn't described what the figure looked like because it was from a very far distance but He took note of the menacing amber eyes and cruel smile that the figure had as if it really wanted this to happened._

 _Kurama gritted his teeth. He began to wonder if that person was the one responsible for everything. He then noticed that He was running out of time and He immediately fled the scene, without looking or turning back._

 _He would forever regret his actions for not helping the kit._

 **(END OF MEMORY)**

* * *

Kurama recalled that fateful day. There were many questions that were still left unanswered. Such as what caused that huge explosion that immediately engulfed him while he was on his way to find the others, that sent him here? Who or what was that mysterious figure watching them from a distance? What that figure the one responsible for all of this? This was really a very confusing thing to begin with.

Kurama had been living in the past for weeks now. He remembered waking up in an random alleyway in a very much alive but different Konoha. He really wanted to find out on what was really going on.

"Hey are you okay?"

Kurama was brought to reality as his thoughts were suddenly interrupted by none other than Konohamaru himself, who was giving him a confused look.

"You've been staring at the air for awhile now." The boy explained.

Kurama blinked a couple of times before realizing that he was reliving the memories again. He shook his head and sighed." **Oh, I was just dozing off, You don't have to worry about that."** He explained.

"Oh, then I guess you're pretty much tired already, Don"t worry I got plenty of beds at the house to sleep in." Konohamaru grinned. He really wanted to give the fox a home to belong to.

Kurama sighed but smiled. He was starting to like the boy a bit despite the latter's reputation as a little knucklehead. It was safe to say that He was able to established a frienship with a person from the past.

As for Konohamaru, He wasn't expecting this thing to happen to him. But he was glad to have met Kurama, in this times of loneliness. He was also proud that he could helped and give the nine-tailed fox a home and He knew that He won't be lonely anymore.

Konohamaru didn't expect that in this day, He would be finally make a new friend.

* * *

 **(INTERVIEW)**

 **"A new friend indeed and the most unexpected way of meeting a new friend, But I still wonder on how he could talk, it's weird."**

 **-Konohamaru**

* * *

 **(CHAPTER END)**

 **AN: Thank you for reading the chapter:)**


	37. Arc 3: A New Friend Part 2

**I don't own Naruto. Kishimoto Does.**

 **Author's note: Hey there Readers!, Looks like we've finally entered Arc 3! I Hope you guys enjoy! I would also like to thank you guys for the Reviews. Favorites, and follows :) Thank you for also sharing your tips and thoughts for the story.**

 **Take note: Recently, The beta reader for this story will be very busy for awhile. So that means I will be alone on writing story. I'm just a beginner writer so please go easy on me whenever there is a mistake in the story.**

 **Take note 2: This chapter is just a filler in.**

 **I also published a new story called " Anthology Story 1: Soul Transfer Jutsu" You can find it under my profile. Feel free to read the first chapter:)**

 **Thank you for Understanding :)**

 **Expect Grammar and Spelling mistakes**

 **P.S: I am just newbie so go easy on me**

* * *

 **Arc 3**

 **Chapter 4: A New Friend Part 2**

 **Late Afternoon Of January 29**

By the time the late stage of the afternoon had arrived, Konohamaru, who along with Kurama had finally made it back to the house on time just before the dinner hour had begun.

The uneventful journey to the boy's house didn't took long. After several minutes of walking and conversing with each other, the two had finally arrived at their destination.

"Here we are!" Konohamaru said as he stopped his tracks to face the very entrance of the house.

On other hand, Kurama just moved his eyes and observed the house itself. He really don't what was inside yet but He was sure this house is pretty large. He had to admit that this was his first time going to this house.

Konohamaru, who was at the entrance, drew out the keys from his pocket. A few seconds later, He used the keys to unlocked the entrance door." Alright, Kurama welcome to the Sarutobi residence!" He exclaimed as he did his best to give the fox a very warm welcome.

As for Kurama, He just forced a smile, He did understand the boy's intention on giving him a warm welcome but his voice was just to loud and high pitched that it almost destroyed his eardrums.

As the fox stepped inside for the first time, He was suddenly greeted by this peaceful and comfortable atmosphere of the living room. He found the place very clean and well-maintained but He began wonder on who exactly maintains this house at this current state, because the kid couldn't do it by himself.

 **"It's very clean here kid, I'm impressed.** " Kurama commneted as He headed into the living room couch.

"Yup, I do some spring cleaning every weekend." Konohamaru said. He would then go on to explained that He grew up around his grandfather's way of living in the house and one of them is really maintaining the cleanliness of a certain home.

Kurama could only raised his eyebrows in surprised as He didn't expect that the boy was this responsible on the house rules but He was pleased to see that he wasn't just some spoiled kid from a well-known clan.

"Well, feel free to explore the living room while I prefer dinner." The boy said as headed to the kitchen.

As Kurama was now left in the living room by himself and with nothing to do, He followed the boy's advice and explored the living room, which was quite a place to be honest.

From vases, paintings, the small tables or the television itself, there was one thing that Kurama had took full noticed of which was the photo section itself. The fox immediately wasted no time has he headed to the checked the photos.

Kurama was then greeted by hundred years of the Sarutobi clan history. There were just a lot of people that He didn't knew in this photos. It was like a literal one big family. Although, there waa this one photo that really caught his attention.

Kurama then examined the photo which made him really surprised. In the photo itself, He saw a happy couple along with a very young kid around 4-5 years old. The fox widened his eyes as he immediately recognized the young kid as Konohamaru himself.

 **"So this is the kid's parents"** Kurama commented as he continued to study the photo.

He had to admit that He can really feel the happiness and joy in this photo. It seemed that the loneliness will be forever gone and only the powerful essence and meaning of family remained. There were really a lot of memories that flashed before his eyes. Although, He began to wonder on how did it ended up like this? How did the kid's family got the sad and tragic ending instead of the happy ending?

Kurama felt really sad for the kid. Since, his grandfather passed years ago, He was just living in this house almost all by himself. He wondered on how the boy was coping with this?

He was getting worried every second.

* * *

 **(INTERVIEW)**

 **"Judging from what I've seen so far, the kid had lonely life, and at least it's not the worst kind."**

 **-Kurama**

* * *

 **(AWHILE LATER)**

As dinner finally began, Kurama found himself in a chair and eating some good food such as beef stew and rice. Even though He was fox, He can still helped himself eat dinner by using his cute tails to grabbed the spoon and eat his meal.

Konohamaru on the other hand was just looking at him with amazement, Who knew a fox would have the ability helped himself eat dinner just like that as if He knew the basic Human customs of eating a proper meal.

There was also some familiarity that he felt about Kurama as if He had met him before somewhere. But He just couldn't figured it out. Speaking of him being a Nine-tailed fox, He also thought of the legendary Kyuubi No Youku, which was also a nine-tailed fox. Could it be that they are the same person?

Konohamaru shook his head. What the heck was He was thinking right now. He should be eating his dinner properly without the distraction of any thoughts.

 **"Hey Kid**." He was then called by Kurama.

Konohamaru snapped out from his thoughts as He looked up to see the fox looking at him." Hey what's up?" He asked.

 **"Well, When I was exploring your living room, I saw a photo of you and your parents, Did you managed to spend time with them before they went on those missions?"** Kurama asked.

Konohamaru shrugged." Honestly, I barely even remember those times. I was like 3-5 years old or something." He explained. He even cannot remember on what his parents sound like?

Kurama nodded in understanding." **So your Uncle and Grandpa raised you all the way up?"** He asked.

Konohamaru simply nodded." Yeah, It was actually my Grandpa who I grew up with. He was the third Hokage by the way." He explained.

 **"Oh I see."**

"I really missed the old man, He passed away a few years ago during an invasion and He risked his life to protect the village." Konohamaru explained. His grandfather's death really affected him and it added more struggles throughout his life.

Kurama simply nodded. He was finally able to recall that time when the sound village invaded Konoha during the climax of the chunin exams. It was actually the snake Orochimaru who led the invasion disguised as the village leader that he murdered himself.

If Kurama only had the knowledge of everything that happened during that time, He would already saved everyone butts because He was Kurama, the most powerful tailed beast amongst his fellow peers.

At first He really didn't knew about the importance of family and saving loved ones but because of all of the experience and journeys that he had been through and especially a certain blonde named "Naruto" who changed his perspective of life and made him a better person. Until now, He was going to do the right thing no matter what.

On the other hand, Konohamaru was observing the fox. He really was a unique friend and just because He was fox, He cannot be his friend and to garbage with that saying. Anyone can be friends with a fox!

"You know Kurama, something tells me that you're going to play a big role than just being a friend." Konohamaru commented with a grin.

Kurama sighed." **Yeah, I'm gonna be the baby sitter for you which is indeed a big role."** He replied back with a little bit of sarcasm.

Konohamaru slightly chuckled. " You're really are funny person ya know that." He commented.

Kurama just shrugged." **What can I say? I'm just honest guy that's all.** " He explained. He will never really lose his humour no matter what.

 **"But tell me, If you have the opportunity to meet your parents again, What would be the first that you're gonna say them?"** Kurama asked. He was aware that this was a very sensitive topic about the boy's parents.

On the other hand, Konohamaru didn't mind." Well, I really don't know and since I've never really spend much time with them, I don't know what to say since I can't feel anything from them." He explained. He doesn't have any feelings of sadness or happiness about them.

 **"Well, that's strange**." Kurama commented.

Konohamaru simply nodded." I just don't wanna cry or something, Grandpa Sarutobi told me that it was not the right thing to dwell in the past, it can only caused you more sadness." He explained.

Kurama sighed." **Well, you're right about that kid, I guess it's better to be watching TV than just recalling all these sad memories."** He said. The boy had a point and He was lucky that he was on a position where He witnessed the death of his loved ones.

Konohamaru just smiled. He was more concentrated on the present than the past and He was gonna enjoy his dinner for the first time with someone since all his past meals were just himself and air.

As the two ate their dinner, the conversation between them continued. They talk about their life living in the village so far, food, most embarassing moments of their life, and lastly, how important staying together and being united when times of difficulty comes.

It was a very fruitful conversation.

* * *

 **(INTERVIEW)**

 **" I never really imagined myself having a conversation at my own dinner table, It's usually quiet here and Kuu-chan brought a little bit of life to it, and I am happy with that!"**

 **-Konohamaru**

* * *

 **(WITH JIRAIYA)**

It was that night when a certain ero-senin decided to call it quits. He almost spent the whole day traversing every place in the village just to find the specific street and apartment that the trio resided in.

Jiraiya actually never expected that He would end up having a little drink of Sake at the famous Ichiraku's ramen shop. There was a reason on why he chose the ramen shop as place for him to pass the time besides the shop having Sake as an available drink during the night.

First, He had a lot memories where his student would always take him there for a bowl of ramen. Second, He was already close friends with Teuchi and his daughter, Ayame. The shop itself was just as simple and small as any other shop but he had to admit that they really serve the best ramen ever.

Jiraiya found himself as the last and only customer that shop had before it fully closed it's doors for the night. The white haired sannin waited for his meal as He was also drinking a small portion of the Sake on a glass.

It was at that moment when thoughts started to cloud his empty mind. He first thought of his former teammate, Tsunade who was now the leader of the village for a few years now. Jiraiya recalled how his teammate lived for an almost isolated life after the death of Nawaki and Dan. She was severely overtaken by depression and loneliness that she began to drink everyday.

Jiraiya felt nothing but disappointment on himself. He was very guilty for not being there by her side in those tough and difficult times. He wished that He could've done more to heal the still fresh wound after all He truly loved the blonde, Its just that He doesn't know how to expressed his feelings for her.

When Tsunade met Dan, Jiraiya left Konohagakure to pursue his own destiny, but he also left because he struggled with his feelings for her. Her relationship with the man and her disinterest in him romantically made him helpless, as she simply didn't love him back.

To let Tsunade live her own life, He took the first chance he could to leave.

He first stayed with some orphans in Ame after a battle that left them helpless. Later, he traveled around and met many beautiful women, writing romantic novels on his experiences. His life started over - he was a a handsome ninja who dazzled women and intimidated foes.

However, Tsunade still remained the owner of his heart. Heck! He even turned down a certain princess' offer to marry him just so that He could always have the chance to tell his teammate the truth on how he felt about her.

Jiraiya sighed. These thoughts were just getting under his skin. He really needed to stop having these kinds of thoughts. It was just so distracting for him right now.

After awhile, his bowl of ramen had finally arrived and It was the usual stuff as always. The delicious scent of the food greeted him first before seeing its glory in front of him.

"Enjoy your meal Jiraiya-san!" Ayame smiled as she placed the man's order on the table.

Jiraiya smiled back." Thank you very much Ayame, You really don't how hungry I am this day." He chuckled.

"You must be tired too." Ayame guessed. She can pretty much noticed the man's starving eyes.

Jiraiya sighed." Well, I was kind of looking for a street named "Evergreen Street." and I searched for the whole village just to find it and here I am." He explained. He ended calling it day after an exhausting search.

Ayame widened her eyes as She immediately recognized the street name." Evergreen street? That's where Bolt-san lives." She explained.

"Bolt?" Jiraiya mentioned the name. It sounded so familiar.

Ayame nodded." Yup, He's the new guy working here, He kind of looks like Naruto for me but I'm not sure for the others." She shrugged. She would then explained that teen eerily resembled Naruto, except for the fact that his hairstyle was a little different, He wore white patches on his cheeks and He had a scar on his right eye.

Jiraiya widened his eyes. He recalled his former teammate giving him a description of the blonde earlier that day and it perfectly matched what Ayame was telling him right now.

"Does He go by the name, Kazaki?" Jiraiya asked. The blonde woman also told her about the trio living under new names so that they won't fall under the suspicious eyes of the corrupt system in the village.

Ayame scratched her chin." Well, I think so, but yeah I guess that's his surname." She said. She now recalled checking his application form before.

"And as for the street that they lived in, It's just around near the second Public Market." She added.

"Oh I see, thank you then." Jiraiya said. He finally now had a lead to where the trio was located. He began to wonder on why didn't he managed to come across the second public market? Maybe He wasn't just paying more attention around his surroundings.

As time passed by, Jiraiya was finally able to enjoy his hot meal and at the same time, He began to wondered about the time travelling trio. He wondered about on what kind of persons were they like, Since the siblings were his student's children then they must have that Uzumaki blood running on them.

He was very excited to meet them but since it was now night time, He had no choice but to postponed and continue the search tomorrow. For the meantime, He was just going to enjoy his dinner.

As time passed by, the silence remained in the shop since He was the only customer eating there. But at some point in the middle of this quiet time, a certain someone had unknowingly arrived at the shop that the busy Jiraiya immediately didn't took noticed off.

There was another customer that had entered the banners and was now standing and examining the menu that displayed on a white board. After a few moments, the customer finally spoke and broke the silence.

 **"Excuse me, I would like to order now**." A voice of a girl can be heard from the customer.

Jiraiya, who was in the midst of his meal, heard the voice and finally took noticed of the newcomer. He then turned his head to face the source of the voice only to meet a person that He had not seen before.

The newcomer was revealed to be that of the appearence of a young girl. She had dark blue eyes, short black hair, and bangs. she donned a light green dress with white bloomers underneath and brown boots.

Jiraiya widened his eyes in confusion." What's a little girl doing here at a time like this?" He wondered. From his perspective, He estimated that the girl's age was around 12-13 years old.

She also had that neutral and weary looked as if she had gone through a lot things but still she was in good condition. But The questions still remained, what the heck she was doing here at this hour? Isn't she supposed to be on bed or something?

After a few moments, Ayame finally came to the scene." Oh, Ms. Miyuki!." She surprisingly said, finally revealing the girl's name.

"Miss? Since when?" A bewildered Jiraiya thought. He never seen a girl being respected as if she was older than Ayame.

Meanwhile, the girl gave a small but sleepy smile." Evening Ayame, I would like to have the usual take out meal." She said.

Ayame simply nodded." Coming right up!" She said as she headed back to the kitchen.

There was silence that took over yet again. The new girl immediately noticed the man observing her and she turned her head directly at him and gave him a look.

"And what are you looking at?" The girl now known as "Miyuki" said in an annoyed tone of voice.

Jiraiya gave surprised look. He really never seen a girl talk like this before to an older person with the exception of Tsunade when they were still young. It seemed that this girl was not even a little girl at all.

"No, I'm just wondering on why would a little girl stay up and be out here at this hour." Jiraiya said. Little girls should be already sleeping at their beds.

The girl just sighed." Yeah, I get that a lot, but I'm certainly not a little girl, you perverted-looking man." She replied back with sarcasm.

"And I'm certained that I'm much older than you." She added before giving a small sarcastic smile.

Jiraiya almost spat up his food when he heard the girl's statement. How could she say things like that? Does she even have a parents?

A few moments later, Ayame had came back with the food that was placed on a tupperware and packed up for take out. "Here you go Ms. Miyuki!" She smiled as she offered the take out meal in a plastic bag.

Miyuki smiled." Thank you, and here's my payment." She said as she gave the money which the other girl had received.

As she was about to leave the place, she took one more glance and gave the white haired Sannin a looked before heading to the place which she had came from.

The ramen shop was now quiet yet again. Jiraiya was left wondering about that person or little girl who just left.

"By the way Ayame, Who's that girl just now?"He asked. He had never seen her before.

Ayame just smiled." Oh, that's Ms. Miyuki, She may looked like a little girl but she is way more older than she looks." She simply explained.

"I see, so she is really not a little girl?" Jiraiya asked while Ayame just simply nodded.

"And How long have you been friends with her?" He asked.

"Well, I think it's been awhile and from what I've heard, She is an accomplished person herself and an established local doctor here in the village." Ayame explained.

"A Doctor?" Jiraiya asked. She was really a doctor!? This is too much. A doctor that looks like a little girl.

"Yup, In fact, She owns a clinic somewhere in the village and I must say that she is quite getting famous amongst the local community because of her medical expertise that no one has ever heard before." She added. She would then explained that this mysterious girl used different methods of dealing one's sickness or injuries besides using the common medic-nin kind of way.

Jiraiya nodded in understanding." Oh I see." He said. In truth, He was not familiar with this person but somehow He heard of the news about local doctor who can really handle the patients without using any healing jutsus or chakra.

Could she be the one that Ayame was talking about? If she is, then has Tsunade already heard the news about her? Looks like there was a competition going on here.

* * *

 **(INTERVIEW)**

 **"Things these days are just making me crazy and how come I never seen her before? She's really mysterious."**

 **-Jiraiya**

* * *

 **(WITH KURAMA)**

As the night continued on, the moon began to shine brighter than ever as the midnight finally approaches. In the Sarutobi Residences, Bed time had finally arrived, Silence once again had took over the whole house.

While Konohamaru had himself in a deep slumber along with a little snoring, Kurama had himself in a different situation as he cannot find a way to have a good sleep of his own. He knew that he was tired and exhausted but still he can't just closed his eyes and fall asleep like that.

So things had to be done to fix this small problem, Kurama then rose up from the miniature size bed that the boy himself prepared for him. There was only one way to fix this.

Kurama observed his surroundings and saw that the window to the boy's room was left opened to let the fresh cold air enter and He saw this as an opportunity to jump towards the window and en route to the roof top of the house.

By the time Kurama arrived at the rooftop, He was greeted by the silent but beautiful night sky. He smiled as he then headed to a spot and rested himself there. It was just a perfect scene for him, He found himself strangely comfortable here. Maybe He was just used to these kinds of conditions for awhile now.

Kurama made a smile as He relaxed himself under the beautiful night sky that He was taking the time gaze. At the same time, His thoughts were coming back to him yet again.

He began to recall the very last few days that led to the destruction of the village. He remembered it being a time of eerie silence and unexpected surprises.

In those last days, everything seemed to be in the right place. There were hardly any incidents that were deemed serious or life threatening. Everyone was pretty much enjoying themselves unaware that there was an ongoing attack and invasion on every village throughout the land of fire in secret.

The next thing Kurama knew, The village of Konoha was greeted by this powerful explosion that would rival the power of the Shinra Tensei of one certain Nagato Uzumaki and thus destruction of the village began that were led by none other than that no good adopted son of the kit that would eventually kill the kit himself.

There was one thing that the fox had noticed and was wondering all this time. Kurama's thoughts then turned towards a certain Hagomoro Otsutsuki, who was actually the man that started his journey from the beginning and even in spirit, the man still didn't stop and continued to bring peace throuhout the land. He played a vital part during the climax of the Fourth Shinobi War.

The only problem that Kurama had was that the man himself was not present during the last days. He considered the man as a keeper of many secrets, He knew the man as a father figure but still He really didn't knew what the man was up to all these times.

The only secret that He knew so far about the man was that He had a special role in the afterlife and even after his death, He would still be considered as an important figure in the Pure Land itself.

Speaking of the Pure Land or Afterlife, Kurama wondered about the said place. In truth, He himself hadn't been there before but He heard rumours especially from Hagomoro himself that the place was a whole new world.

Going there would be already a psrt of Kurama's bucket list. He really wanted to explore the place, He also heard that the place was very much like the Human world but a better version of it.

If He really had the chance to go there, The first thing that He would is to find Minato and Kushina in that very place with a goal of making amends with them and finally seal the long forgotten wound that remained as a rift between them. In fact, He never really had a chance to properly converse with the two.

As Kurama felt his consciousness slowly fading away, He took one more gazed at the night sky. Around this moment, He wondered on where would this journey take him too. He knew that this was going to be a very long ride and the only thing that he can do right now is just expect the unexpected.

There's still a lot of surprises out there.

* * *

 **(INTERVIEW)**

 **"Well, I'll just take this as an opportunity to fix what was considered broken before and I'm one of the lucky ones to get that second chance.**

 **-Kurama**

* * *

 **CHAPTER END**

 **AN: Thank you very much for reading the chapter!**


	38. Arc 3: Day In a Life Part 1

**I don't own Naruto. Kishimoto Does.**

 **Author's note: Hey there Readers!, Looks like we've finally entered Arc 3! I Hope you guys enjoy! I would also like to thank you guys for the Reviews. Favorites, and follows :) Thank you for also sharing your tips and thoughts for the story.**

 **Take note: Recently, The beta reader for this story will be very busy for awhile. So that means I will be alone on writing story. I'm just a beginner writer so please go easy on me whenever there is a mistake in the story.**

 **Thank you for Understanding :)**

 **Expect Grammar and Spelling mistakes**

 **P.S: I am just newbie so go easy on me**

* * *

 **Arc 3:**

 **Chapter 5: A Day in a Life Part 1**

Dawn had finally arrived. The sun was beginning to rise up to make way for a new day. People were already starting to wake up and preparing for their usual daily task. It was a quite scene when the sun was rising in its glory and its rays were penetrating a certain apartment.

For Sarada herself, It was often the usual as she always wakes up in the morning. She considered herself as a morning person nowadays and since the normal aspect of life has returned once again, She found herself slowly walking towards the kitchen and towards the breakfast table.

Sarada groaned as she felt that the sleepiness was still there. The raven haired girl also had to wake up early because she will be resuming her job as a clerk at the bakery shop on this very day. By the time she had reached the kitchen, she was greeted by the lavender haired girl herself.

"Good morning Sarada-nee!"

A smiling Himawari greeted her while holding her spatula, She was currently making the usual breakfast meal of homemade pancakes and scrambled eggs. After a few minutes she was finally done with the cooking and placed the newly cook food on the table.

Good morning Hima." A still sleepy Sarada greeted back along with a yawn.

Sarada sat down on her seat. She was also rubbing her eyes to make her sleepiness go away. At this point, she really had to be alive and bring the morning energy back that She lost a little bit during their first mission days ago.

"You really looked dozy today, Sarada-nee." Himawari commented ss she sat down on her seat.

Sarada yawned." Yeah, I guess so, I really need to be lively this morning, I am really not used to this anymore." She explained.

Himawari sighed." Well, we gotta learn how to adjust since we are in the past." She pointed it out. She would then explained and remind the other girl that they really have to adapt to the changes around them if they really want blend in here.

Himawari recalled how their life was different back then which was more simpler. She really didn't have to be spending much of her time doing all the house chores 24/7 or managing their expenses and budget in order to meet the bills and payments. Right now, she was doing all these things which she finds challenging but enjoying.

Sarada nodded in understanding. Himawari was right, If they really wanted to survived here then they really should learn on how to adapt and blend in.

Himawari smiled." Well since I got nothing much to do on this day, then I might as well go with you at the public library to read some books." She said. She would really love to experience the exciteness of learning more.

"Plus, Nii-chan is really on reading his newly photocopied book recently." She added. She was referring to the two hundred page book that the blonde had recently photo copied back at the Sand village.

Sarada on the other hand widened her eyes surprised. Its like when Himawari had mentioned the blonde's name, She felt this new energy that just came up surging like some rocket ship. She was alive once again.

"Boruto!?" Sarada exclaimed which startled the lavender haired girl.

A startled Himawari then gave the Uchiha girl a weird look. She wondered if mentioning her big brother's name actually gave her an electric shock which boosted up her morning energy once again.

After a few moments, Sarada realized on what she has done just now." I am really sorry for shouting just now." She immediately apologized and continued on eating her breakfast.

Himawari sighed." So I guess you were probably wondering about Nii-chan." She guessed which turned out to be true.

Sarada slowly nodded." Uhmmm, I guess so?" She said as she wondered on why the blonde was present and eating with them right now.

"Well, Nii-chan woke up early than you did and I think He is on his way to work right now." Himawari explained. Apparently, the older Uzumaki somehow woke up earlier than expected and only grabbed a single bread and headed off to work.

"Wait just like that!? How could I not know!?" Sarada asked She was really not used to hearing this.

Himawari simply nodded.' Yup, plus He was the one that attempted to wake you up but He eventually gave up because of your loud snoring." She explained with a smile on her face.

Sarada just stared in disbelief. Looks like the tables had been turned. Its like the two had switched roles this time. The blonde was waking up early and She was waking up at a later time. It was really a surprising change.

After a few moments of silence, Himawari opened her mouth to speak again.

"Did I mention that He had a skateboard now?"

* * *

 **(INTERVIEW)**

 **"It seems that Nii-chan is an early bird already, now that's a big improvement!"**

 **-Himawari**

 **"Just why he didn't try wake me up with effort? I mean me snoring loudly isn't that bad?"**

 **-Sarada**

* * *

 **(LATER THAT DAY)**

"Thank you for coming!"

Boruto currently wiped out the sweat coming out from his forehead. It was indeed a very busy scene in the ramen shop at this time of the morning. By the time the teenage blonde had arrived at the shop, He was immediately greeted by the long line of customers that were awaiting for the shops early bird breakfast opening.

A couple of hours had already passed since and the blonde found himself in a multitasking position. He was the one to handle orders, the cooking and lastly, cleaning up the mess that some mischievious children caused.

It was indeed an exhausting run but He really did enjoyed most of the time. He also treated the experience as an instant early morning exercise which He took the opportunity.

The long line of customers which stretched into a never ending line had finally regressed until there was no more line and the chaotic and noisy atmosphere of the shop had eventually faded away.

Boruto sat down on a particular chair at back of the shop to get some fresh breather. He was also glad that He had finally gotten a chance to have a deserved rest.

Along the way, thoughts were coming back into his mind. He began to think about the next mission that Granny Tsunade was cooking for him and the girls. It seemed that there was gonna be line of missions coming to get them.

His mind also headed towards the thought of the hundred page book that He photocopied and brought from their first mission back at the sand village. He never really had the time to read the book itself because of his job that took all the time that he had but he promised himself that He will eventually find the time to read that book

* * *

. **(INTERVIEW)**

 **"Man, everyday life seems to have taken over fast once we arrived home, I still wonder the information that the book can provide and it's author.**

 **-Boruto**

* * *

"Bolt-san" A very familiar voice then interrupted his thoughts.

Boruto then looked up to see Ayame who was giving him a concerned looked.

"Are you alright?" She asked.

Boruto simply nodded and smiled." Yeah, I am fine Ayame-chan, just having a fresh breather that's all." He explained.

"Oh, well I just want to let you know that there's a customer that ordered for a delivery recently." Ayame informed the blonde.

Boruto gave a surprised look." A Delivery? That's very surprising." He commented. He had never been in the delivery service before.

"Yup, and the customer is Ms. Miyuki by the way." Ayame explained.

"Oh you mean that customer that I actually never had met before in person?" Boruto said. He never really got to met this mysterious customer in person. All He knew was that the latter was doctor and owned a clinic somewhere in the village.

Ayame simply nodded." Yup, That's the one and I guess this will be the first time you're gonna meet her." She said as she quickly remembered that the blonde hadn't met her.

Boruto sighed." Well, I guess so." He said.

"So where can I find this clinic by the way?" He asked.

Ayame simply smiled "Oh, here's address by the way." She said as she drew a note, which contained the exact location of the place, from her pocket and offered it to the blonde.

Boruto in turn, accepted the note and immediately read its contents. It seemed that the place was not that far away from here. The blonde also took a looked at his wooden skateboard which was just parked on a particular spot near the shop.

Looks like He will be using his trusty wooden skateboard again.

* * *

 **(THE CLINIC)**

The whole village of Konoha was a very huge place to begin with. It was also considered as a land of opportunity for anyone dreaming to established their own busines here. Small Clinics were also a part of the industry. Since, Health was one of the biggest important treasures of the Human body, a number of clinics were set up in the village for many years by small-time doctors who had the only goal of serving the people.

Through the years, small clinics became a famous trend in the village as many began to set up and established their own clinics throughout every vacant area in the whole village.

However, the glory days of these small clinics slowly faded away from the industry as most of the villagers had shifted to the more Newer and more modern. Konoha Hospital. The main reasons on why the villagers preferred to go there instead of the small clinics, were the fact that the new hospital had the better doctors, equipment and a more advance approached of healing. Not only that, the hospital was also led by the brightest and greatest medic healers of the old and current generation who was none other than the fifth Hokage herself, Senju Tsunade.

Overtime, the small clinics around the village, slowly faded away owners were forced to closed down their clinics because of bankruptcy and the lack of patients. It only became a memory to villagers that used to go there.

Although, despite the fact most of the small clinics were considered extinct, there were still a handful that were gradually making a comeback and new ones were also being established in recent times.

One specific small clinic known as The "Lifetime Clinic" was making headlines around the local community. The clinic itself was set up not too long ago in a quiet and simple location. In fact, Many villagers had took noticed and began to flocked to the said clinic in hoped that they would get healed from their sickness or injuries.

The clinic itself looked like just any other small clinic. It was located on a nearby residential zone.

The long lines of patients also increased and it stood by the test of time. As for the clinic's owner, Namaiki Miyuki, It was just one of these usual days that she had to attend to since setting up the clinic years prior.

When business opened as usual, patients were already waiting for the good doctor to start the day.

* * *

 **(CHECK UP)**

The atmosphere inside the clinic was a mixture of hope and excitement. Many of the people, mostly families were hoping to get themselves treated and healed from their injuries or sickness. They were excited because they were going to meet this good doctor for the first time.

As for a certain Kiba Inuzuka, He was there with a purpose and that purpose to have his precious companion, Akamaru check if there was something wrong with the poor big husky.

Shino Aburame, who was accompanying his friend and teammate wondered on what the heck happened to the latter's dog. Akamaru seemed to have a very bad stomach by the looks of it.

Kiba on the other hand gave a smile." Hey thanks for accompanying us Shino." He thanked his teammate who was just sitting beside him. They were currently waiting and were now the first in line.

"Yeah, just make sure we won't keep Kurenai-sensei waiting, she only gave us enough time to have Akamaru treated." Shino informed his teammate.

Kiba sighed." Yeah I know, But what about Hinata? I'm pretty sure He would be looking for us right now." He was referring to their lavender haired teammate who really cared about the two.

Shino simply nodded. He agreed to the fact that their lavender haired teammate had really changed into something more different. Shino took noticed that Hinata was much more confident now as if she had undergo a massive personality change but there were still traces of the old one as she would tend to faint everytime she sees her crush, Naruto.

But going back to the main topic. He still wondered about Akamaru.

'I still don't understand why Akamaru often keeps injuring himself." Shino wondered. It just made no sense for an intelligent dog to let himself be harm or get injured.

Kiba just shrugged." Beats me man, that's why we are in this clinic for reason." He said. In fact, He really had no idea what happened to the poor husky. He was just playing fetched with the huge dog just awhile ago at the training grounds.

"Plus, I heard that this clinic is very famous amongst the local community and they don't expensively charged their patients." Kiba explained.

Shino sighed." So what about the doctor here, Have you seen her before?" He asked.

Kiba shook his head." Nope, but my friends told me that the doctor of this clinic is really good and from what I've heard, She looks like a little girl." He explained.

"Wait a sec...How can you be so sure that the Doctor here is a little girl? That's impossible!" Shino argued. He was in disbelief.

"Well, I'm not really sure man, that's what I've heard." Kiba explained. He was also a skeptic to this. He wasn't sure whether to believe what his friends say about this doctor. Be it a little girl or not, He hoped that she would do something to help Akamaru.

After awhile of waiting, the door to the main room finally opened and there was a person that stepped out from the room which was revealed to be the doctor herself.

Kiba and Shino both widened their eyes in surprised and disbelief, What the people say were right all along. The doctor was really in fact a little girl or just looked like it. Both of them gave glances at each other before directing their eyes to the girl.

They continued to observed the girl for a little while. She had short neck length hair with bangs, smooth white skin, she also has mature dark bluish eyes and was wearing a small white coat.

Meanwhile, Miyuki who was holding a clipboard with a some notes attached it stepped forward to face her patients.

"Alright, Mr. Inuzuka, will you please stand up." She announced.

Kiba, who was in a state of shock, snapped back to reality. He immediately stood up from his seat." I'm Mr. Inuzuka Ma'am." He quickly introduced himself.

On the other hand, Miyuki just gave a small smile. Her first patient at the beginning of the day was a teenage boy or was it really the huge white husky dog that really don't looked so good right now?

* * *

 **(INTERVIEW)**

 **"My name is Miyuki Namaiki, and you can just call me Miyuki for short, and speaking about me, I am a doctor for everything and as for my background, you'll find out along the way.**

 **-Miyuki**

* * *

 **(A DELIVERY)**

It was different kind of day for one Boruto Uzumaki, with his trusty improvised wooden skateboard. He was having the heck of a ride right now as he traversed his way throughout the streets towards his destination.

He was really enjoying it as he was at full speed. He also found himself evading every obstacle that was ahead of him in the form of transport wagons, huge boxes, the villagers themselves. It seemed that He was the only one doing this all throughout because no one was aware or the trend of skateboarding wasn't even a thing in this time line yet.

Boruto thought of introducing the trend early. He noticed that the kids here mostly focused on other kinds of stuff such as imitating or playing Shinobi. It was mostly what he call the old school tradition and He had the idea of changing the current stuff here and introducing some of the trends from the future such as the Art of Skateboarding.

Although, He had to put that aside for awhile as He have to focus on the most important things for awhile such as delivering this ramen meal to the customer who had ordered the said meal just awhile ago.

As the journey continued on, the teenage blonde eventually reached his destination. He arrived at a residential area that He find very quiet and peaceful.

Boruto stopped his tracks as He surveyed his surroundings, He was looking for the exact spot where the small clinic was located. He had to admit that this was first time that he had been into this area and he really must add a little effort to explore the place in order to find that small clinic.

The search took no longer than an hour and the blonde was able to find the small clinic, which was located near a particular street and was also near vacant lot.

"This place is actually good." Boruto commented. He took note of the surroudings and deduced that the clinic itself was placed in a very good location.

He also found the outside exterior design of the building as just simple but powerful with a neon sign that says, "Lifetime Clinic" that was attached on the front wall of the building. With his journey finally over, the teenage blonde proceeded to head towards the clinic.

He really can't wait to meet this mysterious customer.

* * *

 **(INTERVIEW)**

 **"I'm curious to meet this Miyuki Person, Ayame and the others seems to talk about her most of the time as if she's an important figure.**

 **-Boruto**

* * *

 **(MEANWHILE)**

It was really an overdramatic agonizing scene that was currently happening inside the room. Akamaru was in this weakened state and was groaning in pain. He was placed in this long table with a cloth covering it.

"Alright, What seems to be the problem here fellas?" She asked.

Kiba on the other hand was really on the verge of crying. He really loved his husky dog and He doesn't want to see his Akamaru go to the afterlife at a very early age.

"Please do something Ma'am, I really think Akamaru is gonna die Waaahhh." An overdramatic Kiba said. He also went to Shino and gave him an unexpected and unnecessary hug.

"What the heck Kiba!?" Shino cringed as He really didn't need the hug from him.

On the other hand, Miyuki could only sighed. She really was wondering on why everything in the atmosphere suddenly change as if she had just entered a scene from a soap opera. She wasn't even affected by the teenage boy's crying outburst but she was only weirded out of the scene.

Since there was still a lot of patients that were waiting in line, Miyuki just shrugged all of this off and headed straight to the main problem. She first examined the huge white husky dog who was not feeling good. She then darted her eyes towards the dog's stomach area as she then noticed some kind of lump. She then placed her hands on the lump in order to get more information on the problem.

Miyuki raised an eyebrow in suspicion. It seemed that the poor dog had ate something and the lump on his stomach was none other than a round object sticking out.

She then turned back to looked at the two teenage boys." Hey boys, Can you do me favor and help me hold him?" She called and instructed the boys to assist her on this simple procedure.

Kiba and Shino immediately went to lend a helping hand as they held Akamaru. The brown haired teen was holding the huge husky dog on top while the other was on the other side.

Miyuki, who on the middle and between the two had put on a pair of gloves and a surgical mask to which just in case the saliva won't be heading directly towards her face.

"Uhmm, What are we gonna do?" Kiba asked.

Miyuki sighed." Don't worry kid, This will only take a few seconds." She assured him that everything will be alright.

The short haired doctor then took a deep breath the procedure. She firstly placed her left hand on the round lump and gave a good feel of it. Second, She then lifted up her right hand a meters way from the round lump. Lastly, she then took another deep breath yet again.

"Alright guys you gonna have to brace yourselves." Miyuki informed the teenage boys, who just simply nodded.

"Here we go." She muttered as she then proceeded towards the last step of the procedure. In a matter of seconds, she then made her move as she used her right hand to stroke her left hand which was placed on top of the round lump.

There was a brief moment of silence that took over. Kiba was pretty much confused as nothing had seemed to happened after that. Unbeknowst to him, He was the only one who was not bracing himself.

A little while later, Akamaru felt a sudden surged of energy from inside and He began to cough as if something was coming out from his mouth. Moments later, the huge dog then suddenly spat up a round object which was revealed to be a red ball filled with saliva that headed directly towards Kiba's face which literally knocked him to the ground.

Shino, who had a little bit of saliva on his clothes immediately headed to his teammate to assist and help him recover.

Akamaru, who was finally out of his suffering, was now back to his usual self. The Happy and Energetic husky dog that everyone loved. He immediately noticed his master, who was laying on the ground with imaginary stars hovering around his head and jumped towards

Shino could only stopped his tracks as He was already too late. Akamaru had already beaten him to it and was now licking the teenage boy's face repeatedly.

Miyuki sighed in relief. She had pretty much anticipated on what was gonna happened next and She was right about the ending all along." Well, I hope you're friend is alright." She said as she removed the gloves and the surgical mask.

"Yeah, I think He'll be alright." Shino said as He finally helped his brown haired friend recovered up from the ground.

Miyuki nodded in understanding." By the way, Who's idea was it to used a ridiculously small red ball for a game of fetch?" She asked she folded her arms.

There was a moment of quietness that took over before Kiba slowly raised up his hand and gave a nervous smile." I did." He said.

Miyuki sighed yet again." Well Here's my advice, try using a much bigger ball the next time you play a game of fetch with your dog." She explained.

"Yes Ma'am Noted." A still dizzy Kiba, who was being supported by his teammate said.

Miyuki nodded yet again." Good, I hope you guys have a nice day." She gave a smile as she watched them leave the room.

By the time they left, silence had took over yet again. The young woman could only tiredly sighed as it was all finally over. She had ten more patients to attend to.

* * *

 **(INTERVIEW)**

 **"Talk about a happy guy and his dog, what's next, a guy with a giant toad?**

 **-Miyuki**

* * *

It only took a few minutes for the blonde to reached the clinic. Instead of using his trusty wooden skateboard this time around, He eventually chose to walk along the streets of this residential area towards the clinic.

It was very quiet and short journey. Boruto had spent much of the remaining time exploring and traversing his thoughts until a memory from his past came up to him.

He recalled the time when He was just a kid that He often used to get himself in situations where he would get himself into a fight with some bullies or at least get himself injured and his mom would somehow always know or find out about it

Boruto really didn't understood the power of his Mother, It seemed that every secret He kept, His mom would always find out about it. He tried so hard to act like He was not injured or had gotten into a fight but it was all just for nothing. He would get exposed everytime.

But to all of that, He loved his mom to death. It was just sad that He didn't have the opportunity to meet her again when the enemy invaded and destroyed the village back in the future.

Boruto could only sighed. This was life and He had to deal every consequence that was being thrown at him. Sure, He dearly missed his mother but He had no choice but to moved on from the past.

As He finally neared his destination and was on his way to the entrance door, a voice suddenly called him.

 **"Excuse me.** " It was a female voice that called the blonde.

Boruto suddenly stopped his tracks, He somehow recognized the voice but He can't really figure out who was exactly this person calling him. So the blonde turned around only to meet a very familiar face.

In front of him was beautiful lavender haired girl. She had dark blue long hair, white eyes and she donned a loose fitting, lavender and cream hooded-jacket with lavender cuffs over mesh armour. She also wears navy blue pants, black, low-heeled sandals, and changes the cloth of her forehead protector from blue to black.

Boruto widened his eyes in shock, He was loss for words at the moment as He found himself staring at the younger and teenage version of his mom.

* * *

 **(INTERVIEW)**

 **"I was really speechless when I accidentally met my teenage mom. She was really beautiful to be honest in that age and somehow she was a little confident.**

 **-Boruto**

* * *

Meanwhile, Hinata was also taken by surprised. She thought that this blonde person was Naruto but It wasn't really him when turned around to face her. He just looked eerily similar except for the two patches on both of cheeks, and a visible scar on his right eye. But He indeed looked very familiar besides being a Naruto looked alike

"H-Hello there, I was just asking if this is the _"Lifetime Clinic?"_ Hinata politely asked. She was referring to the clinic that was in front of them.

On the other hand, Boruto couldn't bring himself to open his mouth and speak. This was indeed his mother. The looks, the mannerisms and the attidude.

He was just so shocked too see her and this was very unexpected. When He did managed to summoned some Uzumaki balls and finally open his mouth to let out a few words.

"Uhmmm, Yeah I think so?" Boruto said while scratching his head and giving a slight chuckle.

Hinata then smiled." Oh T-Thank you." She said.

"So what are you here for?" She then asked.

Boruto, who was still a bit nervous on meeting his young mom for the first time, took a deep breath as He managed to let out a few words once again.

"Well, I'm just a delivery guy from the Ramen shop, delivering this meal to a certain person." Boruto replied back. He was still nervous.

"Oh, N-Nice to meet you Mr. Delivery guy, I'm Hinata by the way." The lavender haired teen finally introduced herself.

Boruto took another deep breath yet again. He can't believed he is going to introduced himself for the first time to her and He was so nervous that He somehow forgot what he was going to say so He immediately He thought of a random sentence just to reply back.

"Uhmmm, I think my name is Bolt?"

 **(INTERVIEW)**

 **"How could I forgot my name? What the heck am I doing? (Facepalms and sighs)**

 **-Boruto**

* * *

 **(CHAPTER END)**

 **AN: Thank you for reading the chapter!**


	39. Arc 3: Day In a Life Part 2

**I don't own Naruto. Kishimoto Does.**

 **Author's note: Hey there Readers!, Looks like we've finally entered Arc 3! I Hope you guys enjoy! I would also like to thank you guys for the Reviews. Favorites, and follows :) Thank you for also sharing your tips and thoughts for the story.**

 **Take note 2: The Miyuki character is part of the original idea that planned for the story. We will soon find more about her past and her real motives in the future.**

 **Thank you for Understanding :)**

 **Expect Grammar and Spelling mistakes**

 **P.S: I am just newbie so go easy on me**

* * *

 **Arc 3:**

 **Chapter 6: Day in a Life Part 2**

It was probably the most awkward situation that the teenage blonde had entered in his life. He really just wanted to focus on his current goal and deliver the ordered meal but fate was just really being playful to him sometimes and now it put him in a situation that He never expected.

Boruto quietly stared and observed his a certain person which was revealed to be none other than Hinata, his mother, although, A younger and teenage version of her from the past.

The blonde knew that He was already screwing up and saying random sentences or replies and He directly blamed his nervousness for that. Several moments had already passed and He found himself still being in the same awkward situation.

As for Hinata, She just continued to observed the blonde, She was having this feeling of familiarity on him as if she had seen him or had met him before. It was really a weird thing and she also noticed that She wasn't fainting even though He looked a lot like Naruto. Then something had came into her mind, She widened her eyes in realization that he looked a lot like a certain blonde, who she knew.

There was silence that took over for a brief moment. It was at this time, when. Boruto had finally thought of something to say that really made sense and it was in the form of a question.

"So what brings you here by the way Mo-Hinata?" Boruto asked. He almost screwed up there but He was able to let the words the out.

Hinata smiled." W-Well, I'm here to see my friends." She said. She would then explained that two of her friends were in this clinic, one of them has a companion dog who had a bad stomach while the other one was just there to accompany him.

Boruto immediately recognized and remembered her young mom's two friends as his Uncle Kiba and his Uncle/Teacher Shino. He remembered that his mom was part of a team that consist of her and the two guys.

The teenage time traveller smiled "Oh I see, I hope all goes well with your friend's dog and-" Boruto was about to finished his sentence when suddenly the entrance door to the clinic burst open to reveal three familiar faces.

Boruto was startled and almost fell to the ground as He immediately evaded the incoming surprised that burst out just now from the door.

Three certain someones came out. First, It was a very large husky white dog in the form of Akamaru, who was in his most hyperactive moment. The second person was none other than a brown haired teenager in the form of Kiba, who was helplessly clinging onto the back of his large companion. The third person was none other than Shino himself, who had that cool round sunglasses.

Hey Akamaru! Slow down will ya!?" The voice of Kiba could be heard yelling as He and Akamaru zoomed passed by the two.

As for Shino, He stopped his tracks the moment she noticed the lavender haired teen. " Hinata? What are you doing here? I thought you were with Kurenai-sensei?" He asked.

"W-Well, I just wanted to check you guys and Akamaru out and-" She was about to finish when the sunglasses wearing teen cut her.

"Alright, I understand but We really gotta catch up on Kiba and Akamaru now or else we might be late for the training again." Shino explained as He immediately left the scene to catch up with the two.

Hinata, who was a bit surprised, turned to the blonde and gave him a farewell smile." S-Sorry about that, but I really need to go." She informed the latter before leaving the area.

Boruto could only give her an amused look. He never knew that his mom's team were this energetic and full of adventure. He would also like to get to know them more if had the chance. Himawari would be glad to see their mom again.

"Oh Crap!" After a few moments of thought exploring, The blonde immediately realized his current main goal of delivering the food to his client and He quickly made his way to the entrance door.

This day couldn't get any better.

* * *

 **(INTERVIEW)**

" **I felt very awkward throughout that whole conversation, just to see and talk to your mom, who is probably the same age as you in this time.**

 **-Boruto**

* * *

 **(MEANWHILE WITH HIMAWARI)**

Himawari didn't knew what to expect by the time she entered the bakery shop that the raven haired girl currently works at. She described the place as somewhat very decent but comfortable because the fact that the shop was air-conditioned and it also got its own mini-cafe to begin with.

The lavender haired teen sat down on one of the seats at the Mini-cafe section. She was taking all the time for herself as she relaxed on the comfy seats. She was also having a nice cup of tea, courtesy of the Uchiha girl herself and reading a newspaper.

Himawari had to admit that she was really reading into newspapers but It was also for her to try something new and speaking of newspapers, she recalled how her dad would always have this collection of newspapers back in the future. Since He was the leader of the village, He had kept himself updated on the current events and this was what she was doing right now, keeping herself updated on what was happening in this timeline.

As her cerulean blue eyes darted around from article to article, she just couldn't help but wonder on the articles that were in front of her. It seemed that every major article in the newspaper was nothing but about conflicts and chaos throughout the elemental nations or maybe even the world.

Articles, such as a village being invaded by another village, fear and chaos spreading throughout the lands, and especially the news about the Akatsuki's doings or organizations with bad intentions are being formed to wreck havoc.

Himawari cringed at these articles, She was really not used to these kinds of stuff. She really didn't like reading things that had negative vibes on it. She considered herself as being a positive person. However, she had no choice but to accept that this was the reality in this timeline.

The only good and positive articles that she'd read was about charity program that was being held for orphans or some guy winning the long awaited lottery jackpot. Although, these were stuff that spread the good word but she doubted that there were ever be an article that will talked about peace and harmony.

Himawari took a deep breath as she placed the newspaper back on the table and away from her eyes. She decided to focus on finishing her tea before Sarada finishes her halfday shift.

"I really like the tea here!" The Uzumaki commented. The only thing that she had to make sure was not to spill the tea on the two patches that were currently placed on both of her cheeks.

Speaking of the patches, She also complimented on how good these kinds of disguises were. They were really effective as if no one was noticing or paying attention towards her looks.

Speaking of disguises, Sarada had also told her that her Uncle Itachi had visited this place once and if was only just a few weeks ago. Himawari was really amazed on how people create their own disguises to the extent that people wouldn't really noticed.

It seemed that she was going to continually wear these white patches until she can think of a better disguised for her and her big brother.

After spending awhile in the shop, it was safe to say that Sarada had finished her half-day shift and the two were finally allowed to go to the public library. Himawari was really keeping her promise to read books with the older Uchiha.

* * *

 **(INTERVIEW)**

 **"Well, I'm just an average reader like the rest but when it comes Sarada-nee, she is a book-reading monster( Chuckles)**

 **-Himawari**

* * *

 **(A REPLACEMENT)**

It seemed like a double headache experience for Tsunade, She didn't knew that she would get much pressure from a handful of people today. First, it was her former sensei's teammates which were none other than Homura Mitokado, and Koharu Utatane, who were pressuring her to find an immediate replacement for Kakashi, who was still sideline in the hospital.

Second, An old geezer by the name of Danzo dared to show up at the office only say what he would always which were none other than a bunch of insults and questions against her ability and decisiveness as being the leader of the village.

Tsunade, who had been forcibly squeezed and beaten by this kinds of situations resulted on her leaving the office for awhile and going to somewhere else where she can eat lunch to fill her empty stomach who had enough of the backlash for the day.

Yes, instead of drowning herself wirh another round of Sake, She just decided to have a normal lunch at a shop somewhere in the village and it was not just any kind of shop, it was Ichiraku's Ramen shop, the famous shop that Naruto and Jiraiya would often go to.

Tsunade sat down her seat as she found herself eating and devouring the ramen that she had just ordered awhile ago. She didn't expected that the ramen here was that good! And Oh boy she was really enjoying her lunch away from the stress of being Hokage.

She was also not alone to begin with, right beside her was a weirded and amused Jiraiya who was giving her a look of weirdness and puzzlement.

"So you brought me here so I could watched you eat Ramen? Now that's interesting!" Jiraiya commented. He really didn't understood the fact of being here right now.

He was going to start the day by continuing his search and going to the apartment where the time travelling trio lived but instead, He got a call from his blonde teammate herself asking her to have lunch somewhere in the village, specifically the ramen shop itself.

Tsunade gave a burp as a response as she finished eating her second bowl. She was more focused on the ramen rather than having a conversation with the white haired man himself.

On the other hand, Jiraiya just sighed as He drank his glass of Barley tea. He really can't believed that He was seeing his former teammate eating Ramen which she rarely even eat nowadays although, Here she was.

"So have you find any replacement for Kakashi?" Jiraiya asked.

Tsunade who had finally recovered from clutches of eating just sighed." Apparently, Yes I did found a replacement." She replied as she took a drink of her glass of water.

Jiraiya raised both eyebrows." Oh, well I think that's great, who's the replacement by the way?" He asked.

"You won't believed this but Yamato is the new replacement." Tsunade simply said.

Jiraiya raised both eyebrows in surprised." Oh, you mean that little kid who used to be on the ANBU division?" He asked.

"Well, He is still a member of the division but He told me that He was looking for new opportunities aside from the division, so that's why He volunteered to be the replacement." Tsunade simply explained.

Jiraiya gave another surprised face. This was some big news. He heard that this kid was considered as one of the best there is. Although, He wondered on why did he chose to volunteer? He also finally recalled very closed detailed story about him.

"Isn't He the kid who was always getting picked on by Kakashi?" Jiraiya asked.

"Yeah, He is the one." Tsunade simply said.

"Hmmm, Interesting, Looks like He wanted to make amends with Kakashi." Jiraiya chuckled. Who knew Kakashi had a rivalry relationship with the guy.

Tsunade gave a smile. She really just wanted to enjoy this moment. Nowadays, She really liked having conversations with some friends, especially her white haired teammate. She really can't remember on when the last time she had a good conversation with him and she found herself in a situation that she really find comfortable.

"Well, putting that aside Have you finally met them?" Tsunade was the one to asked this time.

Jiraiya shook his head." Not really, In fact, I just discovered that the Evergreen street you were talking about is actually new." He explained as that was the reason why He couldn't find it and since that he was already aware, He can finally head there later.

"Good to hear that from you." Tsunade smiled.

Jiraiya smiled back." I know and after all these searching, I can finally meet my future godson and goddaughter." He chuckled.

The white haired sage was really looking forward to it once more. The feeling of meeting them for the first time was going to be so surreal for him.

* * *

 **(INTERVIEW)**

 **"It took me about a couple of days of searching until I was able to find that street, and boy, it was a tough search**

 **-Jiraiya**

* * *

 **(CONVERSATIONS)**

It was yet just another one of those days were Kurama had to watch a certain someone do something hard working while He himself just sit or relaxed on a random nearby spot. Right now, He was exactly doing it. He was watching Konohamaru pick up some trash, such as plastic cans or bottles that were scattered all over the academy field.

Kurama wondered about on why the brown haired kid had to this thing? It was kinda of obvious that there were Janitors here that can do all the cleaning but why did they have to choose Konohamaru to do this?

He really didn't understand, how school works because He had never been into or studied in a school before and He would rather prefer to sit on a couch and watch TV to spend the time.

Kurama's thoughts wandered for a little while, He recalled the time when He used to accompany Himawari to the academy, courtesy of him being summoned by the kit, all the time.

He smiled the fact that those were the good old days when Himawari would occasionally used him as a ride everytime they head to the academy.

" **Himawari**." He muttered. He really missed the girl, She was the most cutest and happiest person that He had ever met in his lifetime. If She was really here then He would be happy again plus He would also expect to get cuddled everytime from her.

After awhile of cleaning, Konohamaru headed to the tree where Kurama was relaxing and watching and instantly dropped down on the grassy ground under the shade of the tree.

"Man, that was really tiring." A slightly tired Konohamaru commented as He immediately drank his bottled water.

Kurama observed the boy and sighed." **You could have used your Shadow Clones if you wanted to finish this fast.** " He had gotten straight to the point and said.

Konohamaru sighed." Well, I wanted to but Iruka-sensei told me that I should never used any shortcuts and used the long path." He explained. He never really wanted this to happen, in fact this was a slight punishment for what happened in the field a few days ago, when He and Kenta fought over a single game of soccer.

" **I feel sorry for you kid. I just hope that you won't get yourself in those kinds of situations again**." Kurama said. He expressed his sympathy for the boy.

Konohamaru smiled." Yeah thanks Kurama, I just really don't know on what's going on with Kenta? He is like that kid who would always take advantage when you are in your Lowest point." He explained. He was referring to the boy that he had a small fight with a few days ago, when he was late and the boy didn't give a chance and instead insulted him in front of everybody.

Kurama sighed." **You know kid, If I were you, I would just ignore him and moved on, you don't really have to spend time with bullies and stuff.** " He explained. Sure, He also had dealt with bullies before but in this kind of situations, He would just walked away and moved on.

Konohamaru nodded in understanding." You're probably right, I guess Kenta is just some ordinary kid from somewhere." He said.

Kurama gave a curious looked." **What about him by the way?"** He asked.

Konohamaru simply shrugged." Beats me, I really don't devulged myself into someone's private life." He explained. He really doesn't care about the kid. The only thing that He knew about the kid was that He lives in a house somewhere and is a student at the academy.

Kurama gave a small smile. He really appreciated the kid for being a bit mature and ignoring these kinds of stuff. He himself would also go along with the flow and just ignore everything for awhile but He can't still get over the fact that they were somehow being watched or being followed.

* * *

 **(WITH HINATA)**

As the day continued on, Hinata found herself sitting under the shade of a tree. She moved her eyes to explore her surroundings for a little a bit as she was seeing her teammates, Shino and Kiba were having fun.

Apparently, after their usual team training, They decided to stopped over and relaxed at their usual favorite hangout place which was located on a certain street at the village.

It was a very quiet day for the Hyuuga girl herself, except that her teammates where in this playful situation where Akamaru was pummeling and licking Shino to the point, he had jusy given up while Kiba was there trying to grabbed the large dog away from the sunglasses wearing teen.

Hinata could only sighed and give a slight chuckled. She considered the boys as her best of friends since the team was formed years ago. She credited them for often being there for her when trouble came everytime that they had their missions.

They were like two persons that sometimes acted like kids and for example, when they bursted out from the entrance door of the clinic like if they were on a mission to have their own parade or something.

As Hinata was thinking about the boys, her mind also brought her back to the time when she first met the delivery guy person from the Ramen shop.

 _"His name was Bolt right?"_ She muttered under breath.

For the lavender haired teen, He really looked a lot like Naruto, especially the cerulean eyes and the blonde hair but she wondered about on why does He looked very familiar as if she had known him from somewhere before.

The weird thing is that this Bolt character really resembled the person that she had in her dreams. Yes, She was having all these weird dreams recently, dreams of seeing herself as a grown up in a very futuristic Konoha followed by the devastation that happened after that.

She wondered if these were really long lost memories or just dream works from her imagination. Although, when she had met that blonde, She felt this sudden urged of pulling the blonde into an embrace and she also felt this feeling of joy and sadness mixed together.

"Hey Hinata!' The voice of Shino interrupted her thoughts.

The Hyuuga Heiress then looked up to see the sunglasses wearing teen, beckoning her to looked at a certain someone that was heading straight towards their direction.

"Hey Isn't that Naruto?" Kiba asked.

Hinata widened her eyes in surprised. She had never expected the blonde to be here suddenly. Where did He came from? Why was He just suddenly popping out of nowhere? This was too much for here! She wasn't even prepared!

"W-What should I do?" Hinata stuttered and asked. She was starting to get nervous every second passed.

On the other hand, Shino just sighed." Don't worry we'll cover you until you finally prepare yourself." He informed the lavender haired girl.

"Yeah should better find a hiding spot somewhere first, we'll take care of this." Kiba added. He also wanted to help.

Hinata took a deep breath and gave a smile." T-Thank you so much guys!" She said as she headed off to find a hiding spot somewhere nearby.

She really wasn't good at expecting kinds of situations. Right now, She was in for another one and She won't be fainting or failing this time. She was going to have a proper conversation with the person she likes or maybe Love.

"Here we go again."

* * *

 **(WITH BORUTO)**

It was exactly 12 noon when Boruto had arrived at the clinic. After a brief and surprising country with a very familiar face in the form of his young mom, it was safe to say that he can now finally deliver the food to the client who had ordered this.

When He first stepped foot inside the clinic, He was then greeted by the nice and cold air-conditioned atmosphere of the place, followed by the noises and voices of the people waiting in line. His cerulean eyes observed the place further and He noticed that the place was not that busy and crowded. The only differences is that it was noon and it was lunch time.

So far the the number of people waiting in line were less than 20 and most of them had brought their snacks and ate it right on the spot.

Boruto then gazed at a wall clock nearby and widened his eyes in realization. The client must be already hungry and He was still here standing like a tree and not moving.

The blonde then wasted no time as he made his move and headed towards the main room where the client resided. Since, the clerk in the clinic was still having her lunch, His only guide was the note that Ayame had given him.

Boruto then took a look at the note for a few moments before finally deciding to search for a room which had the name " _**Namaiki Miyuki**_." on its door. The blonde also took a few moments to think about the name "Namaiki" which meant "Sassy".

The blonde gave an amused look. He wondered if the client was also Sassy in terms of character but overall, it was really interesting. For instances, He himself had the name "Bolt" which came from the words "Lightning Bolt" or even the name " Boruto" which almost sounded like a "Buritto."It was really weird for him having those names. Even his teammate, Sarada, who was named after a "Salad" which was really too much.

After a few moments of spending time with his thoughts, Boruto then continued his search. After a little while, He finally found the said room that He was looking for which had the said name which also placed on the door via some kind of plate card.

"Looks like I'm in the right place." Boruto said as He knocked for a couple of times before grabbing the door knob, turning it, and finally opening the door.

By the time, the blonde teenager had took his first step inside, He was greeted by this very quiet atmosphere. He then further surveyed his surroundings and noticed that room was very clean as the stack of medical paperwork were neatly placed on a desk.

The only problem was that there was no one inside the room.

* * *

 **(DELIVERY)**

"Oh crap." Boruto gave a worried look. He was starting to think that He was now too late and the client had already given up and went out for lunch. It was a common delivery guy's nightmare, failing to deliver the food on time and wasting a lot of effort just to get here.

As thoughts kicked in once more, the blonde shook his head, He refused to think that way. He deduced that the client just went to toilet or something and so the only thing that he could do was to wait until the client comes back.

Boruto tiredly sighed as He just placed the food on the desk. He really need to take a little time to rest before heading back to the Ramen Shop. Although, curiosity had took over him once more and instead of taking a sit, He decided to explore for a little bit.

He darted his eyes around the room, and examined the things that He had only noticed. First off, He was very amazed on how there was good number of books here, the client must be an avid fan of reading. Second, He noticed that some strange bottles that were stacked up on shelf, those were must be the medical bottles or whatsoever. The last thing that caught his attention was a small box that was on the desk. He suddenly felt a little bit of numbness on his right eye.

As Boruto tried to reached for the box, the door to the room suddenly opened, the blonde immediately stopped from what he was doing and turned around to face a short back haired girl, who had dark blue eyes, and was wearing a white coat to cover her other attire.

Boruto gave a surprised look." Sorry about that Ma'am, I was just waiting for you so I could finally give you the food and- Wait a sec, A little girl?" He paused as He observed the person in front of him which was none other than the client.

He raised an eyebrow of confusion as He wondered if this was really the client because she doesn't really looked like the adult and mature person that he was expecting. She looked more like a little girl in lab coat and playing doctor or was it?

The client who was revealed to be none other than Namaiki Miyuki herself just sighed." Is it just me? or Kids these days are really turning into idiots?" She sarcastically wondered as she observed the newcomer in front of her. Apparently, she was on her way back from a little toilet break only to discover that someone had entered her room just like that.

"I'm the one who ordered the food." She informed her guest.

Boruto was shocked to hear a girl say things like that and then the sudden realization hit him." Oh shoot, I'm really sorry, I didn't know you were the client Ma'am, its just that I mistaken you for a little girl-ttebassa." He explained, with a little nervous grin.

On the other hand, Miyuki just sighed. She then headed to her desk." No worries, I get that a lot, Must be really confusing for you to see me as a little girl, but certainly I'm much older than you. " She simply said as she opened the drawer and drew the money to pay for the food.

"Oh." Boruto could only stare in disbelief.

She then gave a small smile. "Here's my payment and make sure that stays in your pocket." She said as she offered the money to the blonde.

Boruto nodded in understanding as He accepted the money and indeed placed on his pockets. He also caught a glimpse of his client's dark blue eyes and He can really see the maturity and the experience in them. This was no little girl.

"Well, Uhmm Can I ask you a question Ma'am?" He said.

Miyuki, who finally sat down on her seat nodded." Sure, Go ahead."

Boruto then gulped, He felt like he was speaking to someone superior than him. "Well, Ayame-san told me about you and I just wanna know on how do you know each other because I really never seen you go to the Ramen shop before." He said.

Miyuki took a deep breath and gave a small smile." That's because I don't have the time for the day to go out to have my lunch there." She explained.

"And if I did have the time, I would mostly go out at night to either buy or eat there, Got it kid?" She added with a very straightforward look and tone of voice.

Boruto raised both eyes." Oh, now that explains it-ttebasa." He gave a slight chuckle while the other just gave him neutral look followed by a sarcastic smile.

There was moment of awkward silence that took over.

Boruto, who realized that he really needed to return to the shop, gave his goodbyes." Well, I really must be going now, it's really nice to meet you Ma'am!" He said as he then turned around to face the door.

By the time, the blonde had turned around and was about to open the door, Miyuki spoke once again.

"If I'm correct, Isn't your name Bolt?" She curiously asked.

Boruto instantly froze as He widened his eyes in shocked. How could she know his name? He haven't told or mention his name yet to her!

The blonde then turned around to face the girl and saw the smile on her face. He couldn't exactly figured out her motives but He chose to wait for more.

Miyuki raised an eyebrow in bewilderment." Why are you giving me that look? I just want to clarify if the name imprinted on that tag is correct." She explained. She was almost startled and even choke on her ramen when the blonde quickly turned around to face her.

Boruto then blinked a couple of times before looking down and seeing that there was actually name tag on his right chest. He then sighed as he had forgotten that he always wore a name tag everytime he goes to work.

"Oh, sorry about that, I thought you actually knew my name. Hehe." He sheepishly laughed.

Miyuki sighed once again." Well, you almost had me choking on my ramen, but putting that aside, its nice to meet you!" She said while giving warm smile.

Boruto, for a few moments just stood there staring at her before finally snapping back." Oh, nice to meet you too! Ma'am!" He replied.

"Just Call me Miyuki."

Boruto raised both eyebrows." Oh, sure Ms. Miyuki." He said as the respectful side of him never left. With that said, the blonde proceeded to the door and fully left the room.

* * *

Silence took over and was in charged yet again. Miyuki's smile disappeared as her thoughts began to cripple up on her mind once again. It was not easy ignoring these thoughts that continued to plague her day by day.

How long does she have to wait for the light of the day to come? How much longer does she have to stay In hiding away from them? Especially him.

The world around her was already considered dangerous and there was no one to trust but only herself. What more could happen if his corrupt system and influence spreads across the human world. Will that traitor finally achieve his goal? How many lives should still be sacrifice? All because of this one insane dream that He had for everything.

There were just too many scenarios running around her head. Anything could happen. It was difficult to judge or guess but she knew that the enemy was already making its move. She knew that she cannot go back there anymore.

Miyuki knew that there was not much time left. She really needed to find the person that she was looking for and she was sure that person, who was none other than the blonde teenager himself that delivered her food just awhile ago, was the one.

The one that could possibly be the only hope of this world and the next. The only one that can finally put an end to his sick game once and for all..

 **(CHAPTER END)**

* * *

 **AN: Thank you for reading the chapter!**


	40. Arc 3: Day In a Life Part 3

**I don't own Naruto. Kishimoto Does.**

 **Author's note: Hey there Readers!, Looks like we've finally entered Arc 3! I Hope you guys enjoy! I would also like to thank you guys for the Reviews. Favorites, and follows :) Thank you for also sharing your tips and thoughts for the story.**

 **Take note: I was very busy during the weeek because of school But I was able to find time to write.**

 **Take note 2: I also published a new story called " Anthology Story 1: Soul Transfer Jutsu" You can find it under my profile. Feel free to read the first chapter:)**

 **Take note 3: For the readers who doesn't like this story and kept bashing it. I really don't care what you say or what you think. You are just wasting your time here and If you don't like the story, just leave.**

 **Thank you for Understanding :)**

 **Expect Grammar and Spelling mistakes**

 **P.S: I am just newbie so go easy on me**

* * *

 **Arc 3:**

 **Chapter 7 : Day in a Life Part 3**

It seemed like one of those days when Neji had a chance to spend the day freely without the clutches of the " "Youthful" training regimen of his sensei. Apparently, since his bushy brow teammate couldn't attend to the training, because he hadn't recovered yet from the injury that he sustained during the last mission.

As a result, his sensei cancelled a number of trainings that will be held sometime in the future, because He believed that everyone must be present and complete for every training that the team had.

But as for Neji himself, He finally gets the time to enjoy a day without worrying all of those things. He rarely even gets a time to enjoy because almost everyday there was often a team training but now He has that time for himself.

However, there was this one tiny problem that He didn't expected to happened on this very day.

When all seemed to be going well and smooth, his little cousin then came into the picture like sneaky bomb. It was also a time when coincidentally, Hanabi had no training scheduled on this very day thus that means that she also had the freedom to do whatever she want on this very day.

Since, Hanabi already had figured out about Neji's schedule, She thought it would be another great time to drag him along into one of her adventures yet again or maybe the usual things that she always does.

It really turned out a very exciting and fun day at least for the young Hyuuga girl as she and her big cousin found herself having a couple of adventures in the village. As for Neji, it was always the usual stuff of him being dragged along as if it was often meant to be like this all the time.

Of course, this was his little cousin that He was talking about and He deeply cared for her even far as accompanying her to a Horror house. Yes, a legit Horror house that would eventually scared the crap out of him that his screams could be heard all over the place while Hanabi was really on to it instead of squeeking in fear like her big cousin.

The next stop of their little adventure was none of than one of Hanabi's favourites which was enjoying the time by renting a Karaoke room for a couple of hours just to showcase her hidden talent for singing. As for Neji, He found the Karaoke experience very loud and defeaning as his little cousin began to sing the poppiest to the rockiest of songs that almost made him crazy.

His little cousin was really introducing him to a whole new world. No wonder why she is the most different amongst the whole family. The only thing that she didn't have right now was a boyfriend of her own..

* * *

 **(INTERVIEW)**

 **"Hanabi is something else I tell you that, She is probably the only Hyuga who has that lively and carefree attitude."**

 **\- Neji**

 **"Well, I just love to explore what's out there and I think my cousin here is not just used to it (Chuckles)**

 **\- Hanabi**

* * *

 **(COUSIN CONVERSATION** )

It was already past noon when the two Hyuuga cousins found themselves walking along a quiet street somewhere in the village. Both of them were also in the midst of their own conversation. Hanabi was enjoying her popsicle while Neji was drinking his bottled water.

Hanabi walked with a huge smile on her face." Thanks for coming along Big cousin!" She said as she gave a small fist on her big cousin's shoulder.

Neji, who was exhausted and a bit drained from the little adventure, just simply nodded." Yeah, No problem Hanabi." He said as he took a sip of his drink.

"I guess all that fun really drained you, I'm sorry then." Hanabi said. She also expressed concerned about her big cousin, maybe He wasn't used to these kinds of stuff yet.

Neji widened his eyes and immediately turned his head towards the younger Hyuuga." No I mean, I really enjoyed it! It's just that-"

"It's just that what?"

"Uhmmm, It's just that-" Neji was sweating. He really can't let the words out. He was struggling.

In a few seconds, Hanabi finally figured it out." It's just that you're gonna spend the whole day trying to find yourself a girl, is that it?" She said while giving that smile on her face.

Neji widened his eyes in shock." How the heck did she figured that out!?" He thought.

"Oh come on Hanabi, Why would I spend the whole day finding a girl while I got a lot of important things to do?" Neji asked.

Hanabi raised an eyebrow." Are you really sure? Last time I checked you were looking at your Academy yearbook photo checking on the girls." She said.

"No I wasn't! I was just checking on them and wondering on how were they doing these days that's all." Neji thought of an alternative way to expressed his original goal.

Hanabi sighed." Whatever you say so but I'm still believing that you're gonna spice up your lovelife." She said as she stood ground on what she believes in. She knew her big cousin to well.

As for Neji, He finally succumbed to his little cousin" Okay fine, you're right I'm trying find a someone that could be potentially be my girlfriend, but I'm not what you think that I would be." He explained.

"You're saying you're not a pervert?" Hanabi clarified.

"Yes! I'm not a pervert! I'm doing this for our clan and for the sake of my personal life too." Neji explained. He was really into it now. He was on a mission to prove that He was already a man at least on this day.

Hanabi sighed but smiled." Oh Neji, at least try to wear a different outfit if you wanna do it. Take Big sis for example, She is like wearing a different set of house clothes ever since." She explained. She was referring to Hinata, who donned this simple dress nowadays.

"Yeah I guess I could, but speaking of Hinata, do you have any idea on what she is up to today?" Neji asked.

Hanabi shook her head." Well, She told me that she was going have training today with her team and that's all I know." She explained.

Neji raised an eyebrow." Are you sure She is not going to stalk Naruto again? She's been doing that all the time you know?" He explained. His overprotective side slowly coming out yet again. He never really like the fact that his cousin had become a stalker.

"I know that Neji. Have you already forgotten what Boruto and Himawari told us before." Hanabi said.

Neji raised an eyebrow." What are you talking about?" He asked.

Hanabi sighed." What I mean't was that Big sis and Naruto are their actual parents in the future!" She simply explained.

Neji scratched his head." Oh yeah, I kind of forgot about that part, sorry." He gave a small grin. Even though, His future niece and nephew already told him of his cousin's future and who will she actually end up with, He will still protect her no matter what.

Hanabi just sighed and shook her head. Indeed, this was her big cousin. He was the most forgetful person that she had ever met but when it comes her big sister, He will often remember everything and Speaking of her big sister, she hope that the lavender haired girl was enjoying her time this day.

They still have that sibling/cousin dinner still hanging around that was yet to be held.

* * *

 **(INTERVIEW)**

 **"I really wanted to spend time with them, it felt like eons had passed, I really do wish all these training sessions are over, luckily for Neji he had that time off."**

 **-Hanabi**

* * *

 **(MEANWHILE)**

Hinata took a deep breath as she prepared for another unexpected meet up with her crush, the one and only Naruto Uzumaki. She can really feel her heart beating faster every second passed by.

"Come on Hinata you can do this!" She kept repeating the same sentence in her mind.

The Hyuuga Heiress credited her two teammates for helping her out since the beginning. She never really knew on how they were this supportive to her. In fact, everytime, she had run ins with Naruto, they would always be there to give her time to prepare herself.

It was past noon when her two teammates saw the blonde unexpectedly heading towards their direction, they immediately informed her thus she went hiding behind a fence nearby.

Now, she was just waiting for the big moment to come and not too long she could finally hear footsteps heading towards her. Not a moment too soon, a human shadow could now be seen closing towards her.

"Oh no, Here he comes!" Hinata exclaimed inside her mind. The most anticipated moment was just a few steps away from her.

The lavender haired teen gave one big smile. There was this sudden surge of confidence from inside of her that she cannot explain. There was this feeling of excitement and joy that was so overwhelming, that she knew that she can do this.

However, There was one small mistake that she made the moment the human shadow, which probably belonged to the blonde himself, finally reached her spot. Hinata was so excited for this that she left her spot and confronted the person that she really wanted to see.

By the time she turned around, She greeted the person with a very big hug followed by:

"N-Naruto-kun! I just wanted to tell you How much I really liked you and Let's eat some Ramen at your favorite shop!"

Hinata exclaimed as she gave it all from the heart. She just hoped that her crush wouldn't looked at her in a very weird way right now. She just confessed her feeling to him.

There was this sudden silence that she cannot explain. It was all too suspiciously quiet. A few moments later, a voice then spoke which was not that she had expected.

"Uhmm, Hinata? I think you got the wrong person, It's me Shino." The voice of her teammate said.

Hinata then opened her eyes to see a very familiar sunglasses wearing teen. The lavender haired girl widened her eyes in surprised as she immediately let go off the person that she was hugging.

"S-Shino!? W-Where's Naruto-kun? I-I thought He was supposed to be heading here?" Hinata asked as her mind was all over the place.

Shino sighed." Well, we tried to convince him to go your spot and Yes He did!" He explained.

Although, by the time the blonde was heading to Hinata's hiding place, He suddenly stopped his tracks as He remembered something thus rather than going to the said spot, He went on a different direction instead, leaving the rest with dumbfounded faces.

Hinata's face went from Hopeful to a full blown disappointment in just a few moments. She really can't believed the total results, even though they gave their full effort on this, they will beaten by the blonde's knucklehead nature.

Looks like they're going back to the drawing board again.

* * *

 **(INTERVIEW)**

 **"Oh Naruto-kun..."**

 **-Hinata**

* * *

 **(MEANWHILE)**

The day continued uneventfully as Boruto headed back to the Ramen shop. He was traversing his way to every street in the village via his trusty wooden skateboard yet again. As he rode all the way back, his thoughts began to entertain his mind.

He began recapped the events that happened this morning and noon, especially the time where He had first met the client, Naimaiki Miyuki, who was the doctor of the small clinic.

The blonde never really expected, that she would looked like a little girl in lab coat. Ayame only told her that the client would be short and young looking but she never really specify on how exactly young would the client looked like. Speaking of the physical appearance, He also wondered on how old Miyuki was. Maybe she was older than Uncle Kakashi, or maybe even Tsunade? Who knows?

She was really a mysterious person to begin with. The first time the blonde stepped foot inside her office, He really had this very strange feeling and when He finally met her face to face, He really can't figured out if she was an ordinary doctor or something else.

Although, There was something telling him that she might be a very important person. He just can't see or get the whole picture.

He then diverted his thoughts to the current situation now. He looked at every area, corner or street that he was in right now. He observed those places for a little while before his mind was then flashed back to the future.

He began to see images of a once a peaceful and progressive village that has been left in ruins. Dead bodies having been left scattered around the rubbles and remnants of streets all because of the destruction that the enemy had caused.

Boruto remembered those last days that led up to the destruction of his home and everything. He recalled being sent on an important mission, days prior to the destruction. The mission was about meeting his Uncle Sasuke, who was investigating a new lead about the Otsutsuki clan and their motives.

He was also sent along with his good friend, Kawaki accompanying him throughout the journey.

However, what was once a normal mission had been turned into something very shocking and unexpected as the whole mission was trap set up by the enemy themselves.

Boruto began to suspect that something was very wrong, He then decided that it was best to alert the village on what was happening when Kawaki suddenly backstabbed the blonde and tried to kill him. However, a weary and exhausted Sasuke intervened and came to the rescue thus him and Kawaki on a battle while and temporarily incapacitated Boruto was on the ground. The only mistake that he made was that He tried to intervene in hopes of helping his Uncle Sasuke which eventually led to his mentor's death as Kawaki took the opportunity to stabbed the man while He was caught distracted and off guard.

Boruto cringed at the memories. It was that one simple move that he will always never forget. He shook his head as He erased them from his mind. He wasn't going to lived on the past, He was focusing on the present and looking forward to the future. He considered that being sent here in the past was a second chance for him to redeemed himself and prevent the bad future that was to come.

If He really wants to change the future for the better, then He really needs to be careful on who to trust.

As He finally neared his destination, He unknowingly passed by a certain white haired man and a blonde woman who were heading towards a certain street and an apartment.

* * *

 **(INTERVIEW)**

 **"I still have the occasional dreams of that day, it's sad that He gave himself up to that Otsutsuki bastard and now he's gone for good."**

 **-Boruto**

* * *

 **(WITH HIMAWARI)**

Cerulean eyes observed the place that she was currently at. The Konoha Public Library was such a huge place, it was almost like a big shopping mall where you could potentially be lost somewhere. There were also a lot of people inside the place right now.

The atmosphere was very quiet as the lavender haired teen described. She found herself sitting on a one of the seats at the reading section. Himawari looked up again to search for Sarada, and she immediately found her checking some books at a particular spot.

Himawari gave a smile as she turned back into reading the book that she took which was a book, recommended by Sarada herself, about the famous and lesser known historical figures in history of the Shinobi world.

It was a book that she took interested off because she wanted to learn more about the the people that were very significant to her Homeland's history and transformation. Maybe her grandparents were in this book too since they were very famous people.

However, when she first opened the pages of the book, she was unexpectedly brought to a topic which very much discusses about the famous wars that happened in history, especially the shinobi wars.

There was one topic that she read which discusses a historical account that happened during the Third Shinobi war. The historical account tells of nations using children as assassins or hired killers to subdue or kill generals or leaders that were leading their own respective nations into battle. They would disguised themselves as poor children and they would infiltrate the camps, where the general resided, without difficulty and kill them in any means possible.

There was this one person who was known as the most deadliest killer of them all, nicknamed as the " **Deranged Killer**." Not much is known as about this person. The only known fact was that the person was a mercenary which assassinated hundreds of people during the war and was in fact a girl maybe around the same age as her or maybe older.

Himawari gave a surprised looked, whoever knew that during those times, even children, without any experience were forcibly put into the battlefield. It's just goes to show how the world was very unfair until now.

* * *

 **(INTERVIEW)**

 **"The book really did show important things and this "Deranged Killer" is a product of the world we lived in."**

 **-Himawari**

* * *

If only there is a way to stop all of these from happening.

"Hey Hima." The voice of Sarada then called the lavender haired girl's name.

Himawari then looked to see the raven haired teen, who had just came back, from exploring the library, and had taken several books with her to read later on.

"Oh, Sarada-nee have you finally decided some books to read? She asked.

Sarada simply nodded." Yeah, just a few would be okay, too much knowledge is not really good for the brain, you know." She explained while giving a slight chuckle.

"Well, I guess you're right, and I never knew that the library here would be this huge." Himawari said. The library, that she grew up with back in her home, was smaller than this.

"Yes, in fact this was indeed the original library that stood before the Akatsuki leader, Pein invaded and destroyed the village before." Sarada explained. It was all documented too well in the future. Because of the Seventh, all these people, The Akatsuki, the villains of history were being learned from schools, teaching the future generation about valueable lesson that could be learned.

"Oh! That's pretty interesting!" Himawari smiled.

As for the Uzumaki girl, she was just

here to go with the flow or in for the ride. She had a feeling that this was going to be a very big adventure and she was excited about it.

"Speaking of big Adventures, What do you think our next mission will be?" Himawari asked.

Sarada simply shrugged." Well I'm not really sure but somehow I got a feeling that this mission would be much bigger than the previous one." She simply said.

At the same time, Sarada gave a sad smile and looked down. A thought just came to her that this next mission, whatever or whenever it is, will definitely involved his Papa.

Sarada directly learned from her Mama, that there was a time when Team Kakashi was sent on a mission to investigate a hideout which had the possibility of where her Papa was located. It was during those days where the man was still a missing nin and a criminal that there were attempts to try and search for him in order to bring him back to the village but in those times, every attempt was unsuccessful because of the failure to locate his exact location.

In fact, in that very mission, they finally had the chance of meeting him face to face. However, the main goal turned out unsuccessful as a fight ensued between the members of the team and Sasuke himself which resulted on him as the victor and he escaped along with Orochimaru and Kabuto.

Sarada sighed. She was indeed thinking about this for awhile now. She was nervous on meeting her Papa and She didn't knew on what kind of person He was back then. Was He cruel? Was He more brooding serious? What kind of person was He?

She was just going to have to be ready on what's ahead.

* * *

 **(INTERVIEW)**

 **"The thought of Papa, his teenage self, still bothers me all the time, and I had the feeling that I'll be meeting him soon.**

 **-Sarada**

* * *

 **(LATER IN THE AFTERNOON)**

Tsunade tiredly sighed as she stopped for awhile to take a break from the paper work. It was yet another stack finished and she had one more to go before she can finally go home.

She currently observed her surroundings and noticed that the rays of the sunset was penetrating through the window and there were shades of red orange that can be seen in some parts of the office.

It was a message to her telling her that the afternoon had finally arrived and she was still here doing on whatever a Hokage was doing all the time. The blonde woman really wanted to go now. She would rather spend time hanging out Jiraiya instead of doing this.

Although, She can't really escaped the huge hands of being a Hokage. If she really wanted to leave right now, then she would just finished her work first.

Putting these thoughts aside. Another one came in right after. She thought about the upcoming mission for Team 7 that was to be scheduled in a couple days time. She also made sure that the time travelling teens would get the message through Jiraiya, who was on his way to the apartment.

Apparently, she had assigned the three on a another mission yet again. There were a couple of reasons why, first she had to sticked to her plan of protecting their secret and she had a feeling that the other fellas were already taking noticed of the three newcomers. Second, the mission was about another attempt on rescuing Sasuke Uchiha as the exact location of the hideout had been finally found through the testimonial evidence of Sasori.

Tsunade's only worry was on how the raven haired girl would react seeing the younger version of her father. Because the Sasuke in this timeline is a very different person from the Sasuke of the future, that the Uchiha girl had told her about.

She wasn't sure on what the scenario will be like but she was definitely sure that it would be a big help for them to capture the teen. Naruto would also go into lengths again just to rescue and bring back his friend. This is where Himawari and Boruto will come into the picture, if her theory is correct, then they will act as a preventive measure if the blonde was going to tapped into the Kyuubi's power again.

Speaking of the Kyuubi, She also heard the news on how Boruto managed to subdue his young Kyuubified dad and brought him back to normal using the paper seal she was amazed that He didn't get a single scratched from him.

With that said, the only thing she had to do was to wait for the day of the mission to come and by the time trio would arrived in the office, she can finally brief them about the mission.

She also just hope that her teammate wouldn't get himself lost again.

* * *

 **(MEANWHILE)**

It was in the afternoon when the school had officially ended for the day. The academy saw its students finally going out from the premises one by one towards their respective homes.

Konohamaru walked along the premises of the school towards the gate which was the only entrance and exit of the academy. He found himself walking alone this time as He sooned find out that pets or foxes were really not allowed inside the Academy or maybe He just forgot about it overall.

Although, He told Kurama to wait for him outside of the premises once class was dismissed so that they can go home together. When that time finally came for him to go home, He would soon discover that no one was waiting for him outside.

Konohamaru sighed." He must've overslept yet again." He commented.

Kurama had a tendency to sleep all the time whenever he was doing nothing and that's probably what He did the whole day. Sleeping.

"Oh well, I guess I'm going home alone again." He muttered as He proceeded to head towards the gates.

Although, as he was walking along, a voice suddenly called him.

"Hey Konohamaru!" The voice of a boy said.

Konohamaru then turned around to see a very familiar black haired boy who was none other than Kenta, a fellow classmate of him and the one who he had gotten a fight with on the field. He was very surprised as He had not seen him for awhile and He had this very silent and calm look that he found really uncomfortable.

"Hey Kenta what's up?" He casually asked.

Meanwhile, Kenta just stood there and smiled at the brown haired boy." Hey I just wanna say that I'm sorry for saying bad things about you back at the field." He said as He apologized to the boy.

"Hey, it's no big deal alright? I moved on from that but thanks and I must be going right now." Konohamaru explained as He then turned around.

"Hey Wait!, Can I asked you a favor?" Kenta said.

Konohamaru gave a confused looked." Yeah what is it?" He asked.

"Can I talk you for awhile, somewhere? There's something that I would like to talk to you about."

* * *

 **(LATE)**

 **"Dammit! I'm late again!"**

A very irritated Kurama exclaimed as He dashed his way through out the streets of the village en route towards the academy.

He really can't believed that He had done it yet again. He promised to himself that He wouldn't overslept and that He would be pretty much waking earlier, although, the damaged had been done and He found himself running as fast as He can to catch up to the time. Apparently, He told the boy that He would be heading home to take a na for awhile. Although, that nap soon turned into a full blown sleep as the fox slept his way throughout the day.

He normally had this habit of oversleeping ever since. He just couldn't control this particular habit because it had been his trademark for many years. He was known to his other tailed beast friends as " **Snore fox"** because of how loud he snores while he sleeps.

Kurama shook his head to erase the thoughts and focused on his current goal.

As He finally reached his destination, which was the Academy itself, He soon found out that there was no trace of the boy at the gates.

Kurama gave a confused and puzzled look." **Hmmm, that's strange? He's supposed to be here waiting for me."** He said as he neared the premises.

There was this feeling of worrieness and danger that the nine tailed fox had immediately sensed. Kurama felt that something was very wrong.

The fox then surveyed his surroundings as there seemed to be not much people already as most of them had gone home. He then immediately entered the academy premises in search of the missing boy.

Kurama really dislike playing a game of hide and seek, or a game of searching, But right now, He had no choice as proceeded on with his new and current goal on finding Konohamaru.

He just hoped that the boy is alright.

* * *

 **(INTERVIEW)**

 **"I hate situations like this, It kinda reminds me of how little Hima got lost in the village and I have to sniff my way through to find her.**

* * *

 **CHAPTER END**

 **AN:Thank you for reading the chapter:)**


	41. Arc 3: Unexpected Meetings

**I don't own Naruto. Kishimoto Does.**

 **Author's note: Hey there Readers!, Looks like we've finally entered Arc 3! I Hope you guys enjoy! I would also like to thank you guys for the Reviews. Favorites, and follows :) Thank you for also sharing your tips and thoughts for the story.**

 **Take note: I had a very week again because of school But I was able to find time to write.**

 **Take note 2: I also published a new story called " Anthology Story 1: Soul Transfer Jutsu" You can find it under my profile. Feel free to read the first chapter:)**

 **Take note 3: For the readers who doesn't like this story and kept bashing it. I really don't care what you say or what you think. You are just wasting your time here and If you don't like the story, just leave.**

 **Take Note 4: Looks like we are already nearing the Sasuke mission arc.**

 **Thank you for Understanding :)**

 **Expect Grammar and Spelling mistakes**

 **P.S: I am just newbie so go easy on me**

* * *

 **Arc 3:**

 **Chapter 8: Unexpected Meetings.**

It was around the late afternoon when Tsunade had finished the last stack of paperwork, her tired hands just dropped as soon as she signed the last paper which finally ended her work for the day. The blonde haired woman took a deep breath and rested herself on her seat.

She yawned and rubbed her eyes at the same time, She had been spending the most of the whole day sitting and staring at a piece of paper, attending meetings from old geezers and receiving calls from neighbouring villages. It was finally time for her to call it quits for the day.

"When I get home, I'll be sure to dump myself on that tub." Tsunade thought as she gave a smile. She was excited to take a very nice and deserving hot bath when she gets home.

She could feel the atmosphere getting lighter as her time for relaxation finally neared. Her thoughts were the only one that was with her through out the whole day and right now and it alright for her to think about anything as long as it didn't stress her.

Her thoughts began to circle around her mind. She recapped what went through the whole day. It was the usual but except for the fact everyone seemed to be letting gunning towards her for no reason. She got scolded and pressured by the members of the council about her ability to protect Naruto, and she also got a visit from the old grumpy geezer, Danzo, who was coincidentally his sensei's former teammate, only to insult her.

The world has really gone crazier at least from her perspective, Maybe all those wars took a toll, that it caused most of everybody to get paranoid. Even after the three Shinobi wars, which caused thousands of lives, there are still signs of conflict and war that could possibly happen at this day and age.

Goals, such as world domination, terrorizing lives and others were the common stuff for anyone who wanted to be the villains. It's like these kinds of goals doesn't make any sense or whatsoever. When will of all of these finally end?

But as for now she will just assumed that Everybody wants to rule the world.

In addition, the unexpected arrival of three teens from future just made things more complex but interesting. Their arrival also affected her lives but in a good way. She started to drink less and try new different ways to enjoy life instead the usual things that she did before.

It also added more challenge to the story as she would have the challenging task of protecting trio's secret and to keep their true identities hidden from anyone with bad intentions. The world was a very dangerous right now and even here in the village, which there are a lot of hidden snakes.

Although, there were still people that had good intentions and these people can be trusted.

After spending a good amount of time with her thoughts, it was finally time for her to clocked out of office, the blonde haired Sanin also checked the time via the wall clock.

"Just right in time for my favourite show." Tsunade gave a smile. She was also wondering if she can beat the time just to watch her favorite drama show on TV that airs every late afternoon.

Apparently, she changed her lifestyle a little bit, as recommended by Himawari herself, she tried watching television for a change and she had actually grown to like it. She even attempted to watch those horror movies that were trendy to the young generation and it scared the crapped out of her.

Speaking of horror movies, most of the movies that she had watched revolves around haunted places and which means old buildings like this building could be possibly haunted because of Its long history

Tsunade felt goosebumps all over her body, why she hadn't think of that for a very long time? She just realize how this could be potentially haunted by the previous Hokages!

She really didn't like ghost to be honest, and she would rather not see one. As her mind continued to filled with thoughts, the small radio on her desk suddenly turned on.

Tsunade widened her eyes in surprised as she was immediately startled. She quickly turned her eyes to the small radio which just mysteriously turned on by itself.

Tsunade then sighed and raised an eyebrow. "Oh come on please, like that would scare me." She said as she shrugged this off. A few moments later, some of the papers on her desk suddenly by flew around and towards her face, not knowing that it was the small electric fan that caused it.

Knowing that this was really serious, the blonde Hokage immediately stood up from her chair and kneeled down on floor and began to pray.

"Okay! Okay! Please stop! I'll promise I'll do my job properly! Just don't haunt me please!"

Tsunade, with shaking hands, pleaded. She has come to believed that the ghost of the previous Hokages or something else has been haunting this place and she deduced that they needed prayers for their souls.

At the same time, the door to the office opened and a person stepped inside.

Tsunade closed her eyes as she thought this was the work of the paranormal." Please Grandpa Harashima, I'll be good, I promise!" She exclaimed followed by silence.

"Uhmmm, Auntie Tsunade? Are you okay?" A very familiar voice was then heard.

Tsunade then opened her eyes to see a very surprised and confused Shizune staring at him with a weird look. She then quickly abandoned her former position and stood up from the floor.

"Sorry about that Shizune, I was just uhmmm meditating that's all." A slightly embarassed Tsunade explained as she brushed of the dust from her clothes. Being called "Auntie" is sometimes felt new to hear considering Dan as the young woman's Uncle.

Shizune both raised her eyebrows."Oh, I didn't know you were actually meditating." She said as she was still a bit confused.

Tsunade scratched her head and sighed." Yes I was, So what's the deal this time?" She straightforwardly asked. She didn't knew what's going on right now.

Shizune then took a deep a breath." Well, I think you have visitor Auntie." She simply said as she fully opened the door.

As the door opened once again, a certain someone stepped inside. Tsunade then darted her eyes to the person in front of her. It was a young girl. She had dark blue eyes, short black hair, and bangs. she donned a light green dress with white bloomers underneath and brown boots and she was also carrying small bag.

Tsunade blinked a couple of times. She somehow knew and have met this person before but she just can't figure it out.

"You really gotten quite a bit chubby, Tsunade." The young girl smiled and said.

Tsunade widened her eyes in surprised, as she finally recognized the young girl standing right in front of her." You're Miyuki?" She asked.

On the other hand, Miyuki just gave a small smile." Yup, it's me."

Tsunade was very surprised to see this person for the first time. The blonde hokage realized that this person here was the owner and doctor of the small clinic, that everyone was talking about in recent times. She was famous amongst the local community.

As for Miyuki, She decided to get straight to the point as she didn't come here to waste time.

"I'm sorry for disturbing your time but we really need to talk, this is very important."

* * *

 **(MEANWHILE)**

"So what do you want to talk about?"

That was the first thing that Konohamaru said as He and his fellow classmate, Kenta sat down down the grassy ground of the academy sports field. It was around mid to late afternoon when the black haired boy asked the young Sarutobi to stay for awhile so that he could talk to him.

Kenta gave a small smile."Well, I just wanted asked on how you are doing these days?" He explained.

It was a very quiet and windy afternoon as the two boys started the conversation while the rays of the sunset shined upon them.

Konohamaru raised both his eyebrows in confusion." What do you mean? Of course I'm doing good." He replied. The boy really didn't understand what he mean't.

"l'm just glad to hear that you're doing alright, Despite the fact you're living alone for a very long while." Kentai explained.

Konohamaru stayed silent for a few moments, his thoughts brought him back to his parents, that he'd never seen before, to the year and time of his grandfather's passing. Yes, He'd been living mostly alone but not anymore.

"Well, not that i'm often alone, I just recently got a pet just to let ya know." He explained as he was referring to a certain small cute crimson fox that he had met not too long ago.

"A Pet? What kind of Pet?"

Konohamaru gave a slight chuckle." It's really hard to describe the pet that I got, but I can tell you that if you see him, you'll be really surpised." He explained.

Kenta gave his fellow classmate a puzzled looked." Okay? I guess that this pet of yours is really one of a kind huh?" He said.

Konomaharu grinned." Yup."

"And are you sure that your better off on yourself since you got a pet now?" He asked once again.

"Well, I guess so."

"Even if your parents come back, would you still choose be your pet rather than them? Kenta asked.

As for Konohamaru, He kept quiet yet again. It was really a tough question but since He felt no feelings to his parents because he had never seen them before, He can be considered lucky as He didn't have to go through seeing them gone.

"I'm pretty sure that I'm alright with things so far, why do you asked though?" Konohamaru asked.

He observed his fellow schoolmate who just kept quiet. He also noticed that there was a small smile forming on his lips. There was something about Kenta that he can't figured out. Aside from that school boy and sporty persona, He is just really mysterious.

Kenta then sighed as he just wanted to get straight to his second point." Anyways, just to informed you that an inter-class soccer tournament has been announced just recently and Iruka-sensei had just told the team that they would be having some training sessions." He explained.

"Great! I'm so excited for that!" Konohamaru exclaimed as he clenched his fist in the air.

Kenta slightly smiled." Well, looks like that pumped you up, Konohamaru." He said as then stood up.

"But I guess, I'll be going now, I really don't wanna miss dinner." He added and explained.

Konohamaru blinked a couple of times." I guess I'll see you then, Kenta." He said as he watched the black haired boy leave the place.

* * *

However, unbeknownst to the two boys, a certain small nine tailed fox was heading and sprinting towards their direction.

" **Konohamaru!"** A very familiar voice yelled as the brown haired boy then caught a glimpse of a crimson silhouette passed by him.

"Kurama?" Konohamaru widened his eyes in surprised as he then saw a very famliar nine tailed fox jumping and tackling his fellow schoolmate.

Kurama charged in full speed and tackled the black haired boy. He was in the midst of searching for Konohamaru when he suddenly sensed and located him in the sports field. Since He was the overprotective fox himself. He took his own route and tackles the other boy which he thought was a danger to the young boy.

 **"Alright! Who are you and what are you going to do with Konohamaru?"** Kurama asked as if he was one of those very hardened cops. He also used his tails to tickle the boy so that he may get his answer as fast as possible.

Kenta was very much surprised and shocked that someone had just tackled him on the ground and was now being restrained and tickled by something furry." What the heck!?" He exclaimed.

Konohamaru, on the other hand, immediately stood up and headed towards the commotion to separate the two. He then quickly grabbed Kurama but struggled a little bit to separate him from Kenta was still on the midst of being tickly tortured.

 **"Answer me Kid! Who the heck are you!?"**

"Kurama stop! He is my schoolmate!"

There was a little bit of arguing and conflict that took over for a little while between the three and Konohamaru tried his best to end the misunderstanding, there was a little bit of struggle but he finally managed to separate the two in the end.

"Kurama calmed down!" Konohamaru exclaimed as he then cuddle Kurama who instantly calmed down from his outburst.

"Is that a fox!?" Kenta exclaimed as he observed the cute furry creature that was still furious.

" **Yeah, I am fox alright! are you blind?** " Kurama fired back as he struggled to let go from the brown haired boy.

"It talks!" Kenta exclaimed while pointing a finger on the latter.

"Yeah it's some kind of trick that I thought, this is my pet that I told you just now." Konohamaru explained as He gave an apologetic grin while scratching the back of his head.

Kenta raised both is eyebrows in surprised." Wait? so your pet is fox with nine tails?." He asked while the other just simply nodded.

"How come I never seen it with you for the past few days?" He asked.

Konohamaru gave grin." Well, He really likes to sleep back at the house, so that's why you never see him all the time." He explained.

Kenta then scratched the back of his head." Alright then, I guess I will be really going now, Your pet really got some badass tails there, I swear." He commented as he began to leave the scene.

Konohamaru gave a smile." Yeah I know, See you then!" He replied as he then waver his hand in goodbye as he watched his fellow school mate left the area.

By the time, the black haired boy left, Konohamaru then gave Kurama a serious looked." Alright, what the heck did you do just now?" He asked.

Kurama, who had finally calmed down. gave him the same looked." **Well, I've been searching for you for awhile now, and plus you had me worried there."** He explained.

Konohamaru sighed but smiled." You don't have worry all the time ya know? Kenta just wanted to inform me about the upcoming inter-class soccer tournament, until you suddenly came out from nowhere and tackled him." He chuckled.

Kurama sighed and shook his head **." Yeah I know, I'm sorry about that okay? you just kind of remind me of the Kit that's all**." He explained as he remembered a certain blonde from his memories that came flashing right in front of his eyes.

A confused Konohamaru raised both eyebrows." Who's Kit?" He asked as suddenly the fox just mentioned someone that he didn't knew.

Kurama sighed and shook his head. Of course, the boy had really no idea that he was referring to Naruto.

 **"Nevermind that, let's just go home, I'm starving by the way."** He said as he then proceeded to leave the area.

As for Konohamaru, He blinked a couple of times in bewilderment before realizing that he was going to be the only one person left here if he doesn't catch up. Plus, it was already approaching night time.

"Hey! Kurama wait up!"The brown haires boy said as He was finally the last one to leave the area.

That nine-tailed fox was really something else.

* * *

 **(LATER ON)**

It was around the late afternoon when the blonde clocked out from today's work. Earlier on, He received a walkie call from his little sister telling him that dinner was already waiting for him. He was now very excited and can't wait to get home just to eat his sister's cooking.

"Man, I can't really wait!" He exclaimed as he clenched fist at the same time. He was finally free from the big hands of the daily hardships of work, and now he finds himself walking along the streets of the village on his way towards the apartment.

Boruto also took the time to enjoy the scenery around him. As for him, seeing the village alive and well everyday was a blessing to him. He had personal attachment to the place that he grew up with and even though this place is very different from his home, It's still his home.

The blonde first walk through the busy district of the village, the shops slowly turning on their neon signs which lit up and gave color to a once almost dark place. The atmosphere of the village at night was very chaotic yet it was somehow beautiful at the same time far away from the digital and modern version of home.

He could also hear the many conversations and voices of the villagers, who were going about the second part of their lives. There were so many stories heard from the many voices right now but the blonde didn't got the chance to hear them all as he finally reached the second part of his little journey.

This time it was the peace and quietness that took over as Boruto now found himself heading to a certain street which was named "Evergreen", this was also the street that the apartment was located.

Boruto walked through the quiet residential zones in the area, He moved his eyes around as He observed the houses that he passes through, He knew that it was already early dinner time as he can smell the scent of every food cook coming out from the windows of these houses.

The blonde's mind then came alive yet again as for a brief time, he was suddenly taken for trip down memory lane. He remembered the good old times where in a time like this, the rest of his family would be having dinner right now.

He smiled as he recalled his dad would always cracked corny jokes, his mom would somehow laughed about it, and he and his little sister would just find it cringy and yet they would always go with the flow.

However, those times were really way behind before, Boruto had to accept the reality that he is now which simply means that He can never go back to his old life ever again.

"Excuse me!" A voice suddenly interrupted his thoughts.

Boruto then turned around only to face a long spiky white haired man. was a tall and well-built man in adulthood with fair skin. He had spiky white hair that he usually tied back into a ponytail, with two shoulder-length bangs framing his face. There were red lines under his eyes which extended further down his face.

His attire consisted of a green short shirt kimono and matching pants, under which he wore mesh armor that was visible at his wrists and ankles. He also wore hand-guards, a black belt, traditional Japanese wooden sandals, and a red haori with two yellow circles on each side.

"Yes, Can I help you sir?" Boruto asked.

The man just smiled." Well, yes in fact I really need help on locating a certain street here." He explained as he drew out a note from his pocket.

As for Boruto, He observed the man, It seemed like He had seen him somewhere before." Which street sir? There are a lot of streets here in the area." He explained.

The man then read the small note. "Yes, I'm looking for a street named" Evergreen street"." He said.

Boruto widened his eyes." That's where I'm heading to right now!" He thought inside.

"Maybe you might know it." The man added as he took a few steps closer to the blonde.

Sensing that there's no threat from the man, Boruto simply nodded." Well I can take you there if you like." He replied.

The man smiled and nodded." Sure thing, Thank you by the way." He said as he thanked the teen.

"My name is Jiraiya." The man finally introduced himself as he shook hands with the teenage blonde.

Boruto smiled. The name really sounded so familiar to him and He even looked familiar to him. He recalled his Granny Tsunade talking about former teammate of his that perfectly match this description. He also heard his dad back then telling stories about white haired man that would be his grandfather.

As the blonde was about to introduced himself, The white haired man spoke ahead of him.

"And you must be Boruto, Tsunade told me a lot about you." He said.

Boruto just stared wide eye in surprised and realization. He never expected that the man would really be the one person both his granny Tsunade and Dad were talking about. He also never expected that the man would you knew him.

"Uhmm, Yes sir I am, but Can I asked on what are you here for and what do you need?" He asked.

Jiraiya just sighed and gave a smile.

"Well, I want to see my future godson and god daughter."

* * *

This was indeed the first time that Tsunade had met Miyuki at least one of the first times that she had seen her. In fact, the blonde woman would always forget on how she would like in person. The only knowledge that she had about her, was that she was really good on the field, Medically.

It was not that long ago when She first heard of her, when word got spread around the local community about this small clinic which was flocked by many villagers due to its doctor which they claimed to be really good on handling different types of medical issues.

Tsunade then wondered if the doctor was a former well known medic nin because of the good feedback that she was hearing from many people. Although, she knew most of the best medic nin that she had met but she never heard any of them setting up their own clinic as most were affilliated in the hospital.

So far this Namaiki Miyuki is a very mysterious person but of course she has there is always a chance and now she has the opportunity to actually converse with her face to face and get to know her more. Although, the only question that she had in mind was that why was she here? what made her to come here just to start an important meeting? What was she gonna tell her?

Sounds of hot coffee being poured into a cup could be heard all over the room. It was instant coffee, 3 in 1 to be exact as Tsunade herself prepared the hot drink. The two women sat down on their respective seats as the conversation started.

"This is all I have so far, so enjoy." Tsunade said.

Miyuki gave a small smile." Thanks, having a cup of coffee at this time is really great." She commented.

Tsunade smiled." Don't mention it, the work load in this office is unimaginable, its already making me crazy." She explained while taking a sip of her coffee.

"I guess I can relate, I got so many customers to treat that it took all my free time during the day." Miyuki added. She was too was having the same thing that the blonde had.

Both of them had a good laughed as they find themselves being stucked in these kinds of situations many times before. It's just coincidentally that they would crossed paths in this life time. Although, to make way for the light headed jokes, Miyuki had to go straight to point and tell her purpose here.

"Listen, I came here because I want to asked you about this blonde boy with a scar on right eye." Miyuki explained.

"Yeah Boruto? what about him?" Tsunade asked. She was surprised that the other knew him or had met him before.

"Well, I want for you to arranged a meeting so that I can meet him and the two girls face to face." She explained.

Tsunade widened her eyes in surprised. She wondered if Miyuki knew something about the trio, especially that they are from the future. Although, she doesn't sensed any threat from her, only the fact that she has the truth in her eyes and she was really serious about this.

"So what are you gonna tell them?" She asked.

Miyuki sighed but smiled." Well, it's a very long and complicated story." She said.

"Oh okay, but what is your relation to them by the way?" Tsunade asked. "Do you know something about them that I don't know?" She added.

There was a brief moment of silence that took over. Miyuki closed her eyes and took a deep breath. She knew that she was going to reveal the big revelation sooner.

When the time was finally ready, She then looked at Tsunade straight in the eye and smiled.

"Well, I was the one responsible for sending them to the past."

 **CHAPTER END**

* * *

 **AN: Thank you for reading the chapter**!


	42. Arc 3: Another Reunion

**I don't own Naruto. Kishimoto Does.**

 **Author's note: Hey there Readers!, Looks like we've finally entered Arc 3! I Hope you guys enjoy! I would also like to thank you guys for the Reviews. Favorites, and follows :) Thank you for also sharing your tips and thoughts for the story.**

 **Take note: I had a very week again because of school But I was able to find time to write.**

 **Take note 2: For the readers who doesn't like this story and kept bashing it. I really don't care what you say or what you think. You are just wasting your time here and If you don't like the story, just leave.**

 **Take Note 3: Looks like we are already nearing the Sasuke mission arc and by the way this is just a filler chapter.**

 **Thank you for Understanding :)**

 **Expect Grammar and Spelling mistakes**

 **P.S: I am just newbie so go easy on**

* * *

 **Arc 3:**

 **Chapter 9: Another Reunion**

It was probably the most unexpected thing that ever to him yet. He knew that he was all by himself when he was heading back towards the apartment. He also never expected that He would suddenly crossed paths and finally meet his Godfather, which he had never met before, for the first time.

Boruto took the time to observed the man in front of him. He described him as very big and tall, having broad shoulders, and confident. He began to wonder if this was really his dad's sensei, in fact the man really is. He was just in this moment of disbelief, He heard many stories about him from his dad and other people when he was a kid.

He was on his way to conclude that this was indeed, Godfather.

As for Jiraiya, He was probably having the same thought as him, He also wondered if this was the "Boruto", his student's son and the one that his former teammate was also talking about. In fact, this was really the person that he was searching for, the blonde hair, cerulean eyes, the whisker marks which was obviously hidden underneath those white patches.

This was no doubt his future godson.

There was a brief moment of silence that took over, Jiraiya noticed that the young man's face was still in the midst of confusion and figuring out.

"Well if you' re confused, let me explain again, Tsunade personally told me all about you three and how you are not from this time but from the future, But don't worry, the secret is safe with me."

"I just really want to see my godson and god daughter that's all."

The white haired Sanin explained. He had no bad intentions or whatsoever, He just wanted to meet the kids and get to know them.

It was like a test or trial for the man himseld, He was on a mission to convinced the blonde teen that he was telling him the truth. He was also a bit afraid that the blonde might just shrugged it off and leave him be. He feared of being rejected.

He felt his heart beating a little bit faster as He stared and observed the teenage blonde in front of him. He really looked a lot like his student, as if he had a twin brother. He wondered if He already met Naruto.

As for Boruto, He sensed no lie or immediate threat from the man, Deep down inside, his heart was telling him that this man was really indeed the Jiraya that his dad was talking about. Not for too long, He gave a smile to the man and hugged the man.

Jiraya was taken by surprised as he never expected that the blonde would give him a warm hug. When the kid hugged him, He felt this emotion that he couldn't explained, it was no any ordinary hugged, it felt like as if this kid was already a member of the family for a long time.

Boruto never really felt this happy and relieved to see and finally met another loved one or important person. It felt like as if he was this little kid being lost for a long while and that he finally found someone that he could looked up to for awhile. Of course, He knew his responsibilities but as for now, He was really going to treasure this moment.

* * *

 **(MEANWHILE)**

Dinner time was the best part at least for a certain lavender haired girl. The sounds of onions, garlic and vegetables being chopped could be heard rattling all over the kitchen area, followed by the sound of water boiling on a pot indicating that the food for tonight was none other than beef vegetable soup. There was also steam that can be seen coming out from the rice cooker.

Himawari smiled as she poured all the ingredients, including the beef on to the boiling water, she also had her timer set on a specific time so when the countdown ends, she can finally say that dinner is ready.

It was already 6pm when Himawari finished everything, she just have to wait for the timer to end, but as for now she took the time to prepare the plates and utensils on the table. As the lavender haired teen was setting up the plates on the dinner table, her eyes noticed a small picture frame, with stand attached to it, on the table.

It was a picture from the time she was a kid and the picture consists of her, her big brother, and her mom and dad. The Uzumaki girl gave a small smile as she recalled the time where this picture was taken which was at the local park.

As she continued to examined the photo, she focused more on her parents, who were happily smiling in the photo, She and her mom were giving the peace sign while the her big brother and dad were on conflict as they struggled to squeezed in the photo.

"Oh Nii-chan." Himawari chuckled. She recalled how her big brother would always wrestle their dad whenever there is a family group photo, these two were the clowns of the family, they would always create a hilarious scenes everywhere they went together.

It was some kind of prank war between her big brother and Dad, Similar to one of those viral prank videos, they would really go at each other.

Speaking of her big brother, He really should be home at this point in time, What was taking him so long? Was He dealt into another overtime shift at work yet gain? Does this mean that her big brother is going home late again?

Himawari just sighed. With all these thoughts overwhelming her about him, She attempted to divulged herself into other things to get rid of those thoughts. After setting up dinner, she went on to get the remote control and turned on the TV. She then pressed the button to switch the channels to the one that she usually watch which was none other than the comedy and especially the horror channels.

Himawari gave a smile. She was secretly a fan of movies, especially the horror movies. She remembered watching her first horror movie which was about a white hockey masked villain killing naughty people somewhere in a camp or a lake.

The lavender haired girl to the few minutes to relax for awhile. She also felt a little bit sleepy as her eyes slowly shut down as finally her consciousness slowly faded away.

* * *

 **(THE GODFATHER)**

It was not too much of a long journey towards their final destination which was none other than the apartment of the time travelling trio themselves. The journey was considered a good time as both were engaged in very pleasant converstation.

"So you, your little sister and your friend lived altogether in that very apartment?" Jiraiya asked. He really had a lot questions in mind.

Boruto nodded." Yup, It's kinda fun actually, It's like your living in a whole new world." He said. He would go on to explained that when they first arrived here in the past, they felt like strangers in a new world. They didn't knew anybody else except that they had to really adapt and meet new people.

Jiraiya gave a surprised looked" Really? then I'm really amazed on how you three managed to adapt that fast." He commented. He was impressed.

Boruto gave a smile and simply nodded." Yeah, and I think we've pretty much come a long way." He said as He stared at the beautiful night sky.

Jiraiya smiled. Although, there was one thing that he really wanted ask that Tsunade never really told him and it was about the trio's past and how they got here in the first place. He has yet to know on how the trio got there in the first place.

By the time He asked that question to his future godson, the latter just kept quiet about it. Jiraiya raised both eyebrows in confusion. Why doesn't He wanna talked about it? Was it something very sensitive? If it is, then He must apologized.

So Jiraiya did.

"Well, I apologized for asking, I think it might be a very sensitive topic for you."

Boruto just sighed, He stopped his tracks and turned to the man, He also gave him a smile to assure him that it was alright to talked about.

"Well, I was just thinking that Himawari would do a great job on telling the rest of the story."

* * *

 **(LATER ON)**

Sarada really didn't knew what to do or what to say right now, She had just gotten up from bed after short nap, and was now heading to check if the food for dinner is finally ready.

The first thing that greeted her was the sound of screaming coming from the living room, the raven haired teen was startled as she rushed to see what was happening.

By the time she got to her destination, She was greeted by a snoring Himawari who was slumped down on the couch like a lifeless doll. She was also drooling as a small portion of saliva was dropping down from her mouth.

She also discovered, that the main source of scream was coming from none other than the television itself which was showing a horror movie right at the moment.

Sarada sighed, She thought that something bad had might happened, but it was a simple misunderstanding. She also just forced a smile as she just observed the sleeping and snoring Uzumaki girl on the couch.

"Just like her big brother." She muttered. They really have that Uzumaki blood in them.

Speaking of Boruto, where the heck was he? What was taking him so long? She hoped that he wasn't going to overtime yet again, She was really hoping for that complete dinner with all of them seated at the dinner table.

She then darted her eyes to the wall clock and noticed that it was already in the midst of dinner time.

The raven haired girl sighed, with Himawari now fast asleep and her being the last person awake in this apartment, She had no choice but to go to the ramen shop and try to fetch the knucklehead and bring him home so that dinner could finally be started.

As she was about to prepare herself to go outside, there was a sudden knocked from the door which caught the attention of the glasses wearing teen.

Sarada then darted her eyes towards the door, She wondered on who could that person be from outside, and when she quickly realized that it could be the knucklehead himself.

There was this feeling of excitement that surged up from inside of her as she took the steps towards door, and by the time she got to her destination, she reached her hand for the door and when she finally grab the knob to open it, the door suddenly opened, indicating that it has been unlocked from the other side.

As a result, Sarada found herself being hit by the door directly to her face, and she felt as if she was knocked out by a boxer hungry for the championship, and was sent to the floor.

 **"Hey guys! I'm Home! And I got a surprised! Dattebasa!"**

A certain blonde haired teen burst out from the door and entered the apartment unit with a brand new energy and excitement. He was ready to show and introduced Jiraiya to the rest when he found himself being greeted by quietness, except for the TV which was still showing that horror movie.

"Uhmmm Hello?" Boruto raised an eyebrow in confusion as He survyed his surroundings to see what was going on.

Jiraiya, who was behind took a peek to see what was happening." Looks like a very quiet welcome." He commented.

"I wonder what happened here." Boruto said as he continued his small investigation. He first went to the living room and saw his little sister who immediately woke up.

"Oh my gosh! Nii-chan! What happened!?" Himawari jolted up from the couch as she then found herself staring at her big brother.

"Well, I don't know Hima, I just arrived here, Where's Sarada-chan by the way?" He asked.

Himawari cutely scratched her chin, as the short haired girl, tried to remember the whereabouts of the raven haired teen.

"I guess she's in her room taking a nap." Himawari guessed. She recalled the older girl telling her that she was going to take a short nap for awhile.

"Hey kiddo, Looks like I found your friend and she's sleeping on the floor alright." Jiraiya's voice was then heard.

Both Uzumaki siblings turned around to face their God Father, staring at a familiar raven haired teen that was laying on the floor from behind the door.

Sarada, on the other hand was almost completely knocked out from the ordeal. She can't believed that this really happened to her and it was apparently her first time being knocked over by a door that hard in her life.

* * *

 **(LATER ON)**

Dinner started right after Boruto had arrived with a certain spiky white haired man, both girls were very much surprised to see that this person. As for Sarada, this was indeed the legendary toad sage and the sensei of the seventh, Jiraiya, which she read all about in the history books.

As for the Uzumaki siblings, they see this man as a member of the family. A long lost father figure, that they never met before in their lives, and only now that they were given the chance to finally meet him in person.

Jiraiya sat down with the rest as the dinner was finally served, The main dish was one of the lavender haired girl's usual cooking which was really delicious.

"This is amazing!"

The man commented, He never really tasted a food so delicious like this before. It was phenomenal for him. He wondered on who taught the girl to cook like this, and when he asked that question, He got answer immediately.

"My mom taught me, and if you are wondering how, then you just simply put your passion and heart into your cooking." Himawari gave a smile and explained.

Boruto gave a grin." Yup! Mom is the best cook that ever was." He added. He really liked his mom's cooking since he was a kid.

Jiraiya smiled." Well, you're mom must be a really lovely person." He commented, but there was one thing that was bothering him.

"May I asked, since you two are my student's children, then who did he end up with?" He asked.

Boruto and Himawari gave glances at each other, both of them giggled which confused the man even more. He was really in for a surprised. Most of everybody thought that their Dad would end up meeting someone else but fate was just the love maker it is.

"Well, believed it or not, but our mom's name is Hinata." Boruto explained, he was referring to a certain Hyuuga heiress.

"And she's a Hyuuga by the way." Himawari added finally completing their answer.

Jiraiya almost dropped his chopsticks when the big revelation had finally came to him like a giant tidal wave. He was very much surprised, He never expected that his student would end up with girl from the Hyuuga clan. Of course, He heard of Hinata, she was dubbed the "Hyuuga Princess" and Also Naruto's number one fan.

"Well, it's a really long story but let's just say that our mom is secretly in loved with the old man for a long time, and it really took a few years for dad to realized that someone really loved him." Boruto explained as he took a drink of his glass water.

Jiraiya nodded in understanding, He would go on to learned that his student's attempts on getting his pink haired teammate's heart was really just useless since the beginning.

"But have you finally got the chance to meet your dad?" He asked.

Both of the siblings simply nodded. They would go on to explained that they were able to spend time with him during the rescue mission and get to know him as a person. According to the blonde himself, Naruto was actually a very nice guy contrast to the rumours that he was a demon or whatsoever, and behind the mask that he was wearing was a sad person that just wanted a something to be belong to.

Jiraiya nodded, He also knew what his student was going through and he was glad that the siblings were here to give him the moral and emotional support that he needed all these years.

There were a lot of questions that he finally managed to asked during the whole dinner conversation. One revelation, that he learned was that Tsunade would end up still single in the future, this gives him the idea that he can have the chance to expressed his feelings for her or maybe asked her out on a date even though they were at this stage of their life.

Another thing that he learned was that the Rokudaime Hokage would be none other than Kakashi himself, who was an avid fan of his books. He really knew from the beginning that the instructor of Team 7 would have that kind of potential to lead the village even though, He was a bit of a pervert.

When the topic came about himself and his future, He received this weird silence from the siblings, before telling him that He would become a very successful writer in the future and that would be all as knowing one's whole future would be really too much already so he put that aside.

So when it was his turn to tell his story, He first informed the trio that they were assigned to a mission by Tsunade herself to keep the secret safe once more. He told them that the main mission detail which was about a rescue mission. When he was asked about the rescue mission again, He simply told them that the rescue mission was about rescuing a certain important person named Sasuke Uchiha.

All of three, were caught by surprised when they heard this news. They were excited about a rescue mission again, but they were shocked to hear that the person that they were going to rescue was none other than Sarada's young father. This was really unexpected.

Jiraiya sighed." I know you three are shocked right now but if you want to learn more about the mission, then I guess Tsunade will see you tomorrow for the mission briefing." He explained.

There was a brief moment of silence in the whole dining room, the trio were in their thoughts right now, Boruto was thinking of getting ready for a surprised first time meet up with his Uncle and Mentor, Himawari was having the same thoughts as her big brother but she was still had yet to decide if she was going to participate or just take a rest.

As for Sarada, She was the most affected of the news, Thoughts overwhelmed her as She began to think about her Papa once again. These thoughts about him were really bothering her for awhile now. She gave a nervous and worried looked which was immediately noticed by her blonde teammate.

Boruto directed his eyes towards his raven haired teammate, as He observed her, she just sat there and quietly ate her dinner, but she still had that bothered looked on her face.

He could only sighed and gave her a concerned look. He was going to get the bottm of this later on.

* * *

 **(LATER ON)**

The night continued on as usual as dinner time had finally came to an end. Sarada found herself on the small apartment balcony, she enjoyed the fresh air and gazed at the beautiful night sky, especially the moon which is in its majestic form right now.

Sarada took a deep breath to calm herself down, right after dinner, Boruto and Himawari went on to entertain and play board games with Jiraiya at the living room, while she chose to be alone for awhile.

For the past couple of days, she was already thinking on their next mission, through her guessed, It was another rescue mission and this time, it involves mostly of her Papa, because He was really the target of this mission and according to Jiraiya, the mission will start tomorrow.

"Sarada-chan." The familiar voice of Boruto can be heard from behind calling her name.

Sarada then turned around to face the blonde, who was holding a small glass of water on his right hand

Sarada raised both eyebrows in surprised." I thought you were playing those board games with the rest of the guys?" She asked.

"Well, I was going to but I just decided to check up on you for awhile." Boruto explained to the Uchiha girl.

Boruto smiled as he offered the drink to his friend." Here you go, I guess you haven't drank your water during dinner." He explained.

"Oh, thank you." A bewildered Sarada said as she took the the glass of water and drank it. She was trying to figure out if she really did drank her glass of water or maybe not, because she was so overwhelmed with thoughts during supper that she forgot about it and just left the dinner the table.

When she finally realized that what he had said was true, she just sighed as she immediately took glass and drank it.

Boruto gave a small smile, He then decided to finally get straight to the point." Is there really something bothering you? Could it be the mission that Jiraiya-jiji told us?" He asked.

Sarada looked down and simply nodded." Yeah." She replied. She was planning to explain the whole reason on why she was bothered, but the blonde quickly figured it out.

"Is it about meeting Uncle Sasuke? Is that why you are worried?"

Sarada nodded for the second time. She really didn't have to explained everything, her Papa's name was already enough for the blonde to get the whole picture.

Boruto sighed but smiled." Yeah, I'm worried about it too, from what I've heard, He was a very different person in this timeline." He explained. He guessed that his mentor's personality in this timeline, could be compared to that of a brooding Kawaki.

Sarada just kept quiet, She really didn't expected this sooner, she hasn't really prepared herself on meeting her younger Papa. For all she knows, she doesn't really want to engaged him in a fight.

She then turned back and continued on watching the view.

The raven haired girl then, felt a hand placed on her shoulder, she then turned to her left and saw the blonde already beside her. She darted her eyes towards his face and met his cerulean eyes.

Sarada commented on how his eyes were hypnotizing and how the whisker-like marks were cute, overall her blonde teammate was really handsome, He was just now aware about it.

On the other hand, Boruto was having the same thoughts, as he observed her face, He took note of how she would be much beautiful if she would just removed that glasses, She can't be a nerd forever.

He then gave a smile." Don't worry about anything Sarada, No matter what happens, I'm always here to protect you and Hima." He said. It was his responsibility.

"I know that there are things in this timeline that we do not know yet, but the only way for us to overcome this challenges is that we should stick and face all these together." Boruto added. He was attempting to bring out the positive side of things to his teammate.

"As I said before, I will always be there to protect you girls." He said while giving the girl a wink.

There was a moment of silence that took over, Sarada continued to stare at her teammate, with all those things that he had said to her, it really gave her the hope inside once again, She also felt this stranged urged to get closer to him, as she closed her eyes and unconsciously attempted to kiss blonde on the lips. Maybe this was her inner feelings for him coming out.

As for Boruto, He just stood there and kept staring at her as if he was in a trance, there was something about her that he really can't figured it out. He began to wonder if the raven haired girl did really have feelings for him and if he did, How should He returned those feelings back to her?

* * *

 **(ALMOST)**

By the time their lips were on the verge of turning into a full blown kiss, it was suddenly interrupted by a certain lavender haired girl who popped out in front of them like a ghost.

 **"Hey guys! We really need two more players for this board game that we're playing."**

Both of them were startled, especially Sarada, who immediately pulled back from the blonde's face, her cheeks were slightly red indicating that she was blushing.

Himawari raised an eyebrow in confusion. she immediately noticed the commotion going on.

"Uhmm, your cheeks are really red Sarada-nee." She commented. She was in her detective mode again.

She then turned to her big brother, who was just standing there like a lost kid." You seemed lost Nii-chan, Are you alright?" She asked.

Boruto blinked a couple of times before snapping back to reality." Uhmm, Yeah, I'm fine Hima." He nervously grinned while scratching the back of his head.

Himawari could only sighed." Well, I'm just gonna be at the living room, just tell us if you guys are ready to pick up your characters and start the game." She explained before disappearing from the scene.

There was a brief moment of quietness that took over, Both of the two give glances at each other, Sarada gave a smile while Boruto raised both eyebrows in question.

"So you wanna go and join them? I think they're playing Monopoly." He asked.

Sarada shook her head and smiled." Well, I guess so." She said.

Although, as time was really getting impatient, Sarada wasted no time and made her move by giving the blonde a quick kiss on the cheek, before leaving him and heading back to the living room.

For a few moments Boruto just stood there: bewildered and surprised. Did she just kissed him on the cheek? It was very unexpected yet it was somehow very heart warming as his cheeks turned red for a short while.

His lips then formed into a smile as He also headed to the living room to the catch up with the rest of the pushed his thoughts aside as he made sure that he was going to enjoy this night before another storm comes again.

What a night it is!

* * *

 **(CHAPTER END)**

 **AN: Thank you for reading the chapter:)**


	43. Arc 3: Learning the Truth Part 1

**I don't own Naruto. Kishimoto Does.**

 **Author's note: Hey there Readers!, Looks like we've finally entered Arc 3! I Hope you guys enjoy! I would also like to thank you guys for the Reviews. Favorites, and follows :) Thank you for also sharing your tips and thoughts for the story.**

 **Take note: I had a very week again because of school But I was able to find time to write.**

 **Take note 2: For the readers who doesn't like this story and kept bashing it. I really don't care what you say or what you think. You are just wasting your time here and If you don't like the story, just leave.**

 **Thank you for Understanding :)**

* * *

 **Arc 3:**

 **Chapter 10: Learning the Truth Part 1**

 **Morning of February 2**

Dawn had finally arrived once again, the sun was still on its early stages of rising, as the nightly stars slowly disappeared one by one. The cold breeze of the wind was still present, and anyone that had plans to go outside at this time should be wearing jacket right now.

Miyuki comfortably sat down on one of the seats at a familiar ramen shop. She had woken up earlier than her usual time, just to take a morning stroll along the still quiet streets of the village, and then decided to have her breakfast at the shop, she is currently waiting for the meal that she ordered just awhile ago.

After waiting for several minutes, Ayame finally came out serving her meal, which consists of fried rice (Yakemishi), steamed dumplings, and a cup of hot coffee.

"Here's your breakfast meal as you ordered, Ms. Miyuki!" Ayame greeted with a smile, as she served the meal.

Miyuki gave a smile." Thank you, Ayame." She simply said as she immediately grabbed the chopsticks in front of her and started eating.

In fact, She really didn't knew that the shop had a breakfast promo until she just found out this morning and the fact that she often buy her meals during lunch and dinner only. Of course, She had tried cooking her meals before but because of the heavy load from work, she had to changed the lifestyle for a bit. It was very similar to her old life back home.

She spent most of her time quietly enjoying her breakfast without the presence of thoughts, only after awhile that her name was then called by Teuchi himself.

"Looks like you woke up early today, Miyuki!" He said with a surprised tone of voice.

"This might be the first time that you're eating our new dishes from the breakfast menu!" He added. He was just surprised to see her early in this time.

Miyuki gave a small smile." Uhmm... Yeah, I can see that." She said as she then resumed back to eating her meal.

"Uhmm, Ms. Miyuki?"

This time, it was Ayame that spoke and called her. The short black haired woman then looked up once again from her meal and raised both of her eyebrows.

"Well, I've been really thinking of asking this question for awhile now, and maybe I think this could be the right time." Ayame had that slight nervous smile as she explained.

Miyuki just sighed. She had the feeling that the girl was going to eventually asked her real age, because that's the thing that many people noticed her about. They were just shy to ask the question, but this girl got guts.

"Go ahead." She simply said.

Ayame then took a deep breath and open her mouth." Well, I just want to know on how did you managed to become successful in life?" She finally asked the question.

Miyuki then widened her eyes in surprised. She'd never expected to hear this from the girl and this was something new to her compare to the usual questions that people asked about her.

"What do you mean Ayame?" She asked.

"Well, You're really successful in terms of how you handle yourself, especially how you make your life stable, plus you have a clinic of your own!" She explained.

"I mean... How do you that?" She added.

Miyuki just sighed and gave a slight smile." Well, it's quite simple Ayame." She said.

"It's a matter of how you make your own decisions, you either choose to persevere and keep moving forward or see yourself become a nobody." She simply said. She would go on to explained that no matter what the consequences or challenges, a person would just need to be strong all throughout.

Ayame just stared in amazement, Her advice was simple yet very effective. Even though, she was just the daughter of a famous ramen shop owner, she dream't of becoming big one day, although she didn't know what kind of dream that she has for the future.

"So If I just follow my dreams and persevere then I could achieved anything?" She asked.

Miyuki simply nodded and smiled." Yes you will."

"And of course, always never forget to thank Kami-sama for all things that He had done for our family and our lives!" Teuchi came to the scene yet again and added another important part of the conversation.

Both Ayame and Miyuki turned to the man. The young brown haired girl immediately agreed while the other just kept silent. The mentioning of Kami gave an uncomfortable feeling to the older girl herself. It seemed that everybody in this world still believed in him, even though, He was already long gone.

Her thoughts had gone back to the past for a short while. She remembered his sacrifice just to keep the peace of this world from the total utter destruction that almost happened because of that winged beast. It also caused a lot of changes throughout everything.

Even though that peace was achieved the aftermath of his sacrifice, it didn't last long as things weren't the same anymore. Wars and conflicts still continued to ravage across the world, relationships became sour, everyone has their own goals of making a world a better place and no one was considered the bad person.

Miyuki was a witnessed in this conflicts, there were attempts to heal the wounds, she saw how the council strived for a better future in all worlds, they want to achieved what Kami has envisioned but the problem was that they can't seemed to reached a final decision or conclusion thus debates. were still ongoing until now.

It was not too long when she discovered that something was wrong and how there was this conspiracy which was started none other by him. So that's why she had severe her connection with the council in the first place. Everyone were just being led into his game.

She only wished that she had known it sooner. Although, since the aftermath of the jougan's ability courtesy of the blonde boy, she now had that second chance to do it again and prevent the destruction that was to forthcome just like on the original timeline.

"Are you okay Ms. Miyuki?" Ayame asked as she noticed the silence coming from the latter.

Miyuki snapped from her thoughts. She blinked a couple of times before turning her eyes to the brown haired girl." Yes, I'm fine." She smiled.

"Oh that's good to hear, I noticed that you were in deep thoughts just now." Ayame said.

Miyuki just sighed but smiled." Thank you for your concern, Ayame, although I have to tell you that I finally met the blonde kid that you told me about." She said.

Ayame widened her eyes in surprised." Oh you mean, Bolt-san?" She asked while the other simply nodded.

"That's pretty cool, Bolt-san is really a nice and helpful person, He's the best guy that the shop had in years!" Ayame said. She would go on to explained that one time, the blonde came to shop and told them that he was looking for a job and they happily accepted him, because he was already a member of the family.

"That's interesting." Miyuki commented while drinking her cup of hot coffee.

"So what do you think of him? Well, I mean when you first saw him, what was your reaction? Ayame asked.

There was quietness from the Miyuki as she just closed her eyes and took a deep breath. Does she really wanted to know her first impression of him? Was it really worth the thing to know? Well then looks like she doesn't have a choice.

Miyuki opened her eyes and gave an amused smile.

"I think he's a knucklehead."

* * *

 **(AT THE APARTMENT)**

Morning had finally arrived at the time travelling trio's residence. It seemed that everyone was already packing their things up but except for a certain lavender haired girl, who was still busy on preparing the breakfast on the table.

"Are you really sure that you don't wanna go in this mission? I mean, Granny Tsunade would really get pissed ya know that."

Boruto explained as He prepared the backpacks, the medical kits and other necessary things that would be needed in this mission. He was very much surprised to hear that his little sister won't be involved in this mission, although it was her decision and choice in the end.

Himawari simply smiled." Yeah, I'm pretty sure about that Nii-chan, and don't worry about granny Tsunade, I'm sure she will understand." She explained. The lavender haired Uzumaki thought that it was time to rest for awhile, from seeing the destruction of her home then being sent on dangerous missions in the past, it really made her exhausted.

As for Boruto, He understood what his little sister mean't. She was just a normal human being, who gets normally tired, she really deserved a good rest for awhile. She was also old enought to make her own decisions and he respected that.

Boruto gave a slight chuckle." Just make sure that you don't call her Granny again in front of her or she'll really get mad and cut the tv cable off." He simply said.

Himawari chuckled." You're very funny Nii-chan! Although, that would be quite impossible, since you're always the first one to say "Granny." She replied. Her big brother was always the first one to greet Tsunade whenever the trio meets her.

Boruto just smiled." Well, at least I don't get myself being punched or slapped in the face." He explained. He also told her that Sarada was much more scarier whenever she is pissed or irritated. It was like a carbon copy of Aunt Sakura.

"Speaking of Sarada-nee, where is she by the way?" Himawari asked.

Boruto just shrugged." Well, I think she's busy preparing and packing her things up." He explained as he turned his eyes towards the lone room of the apartment unit.

Although, Sarada should be really here for breakfast, she was still inside the room for quite sometime now, what was taking her so long?

* * *

 **(MEANWHILE)**

" **Achooo!"**

It was all dirt and dust that the raven haired girl can mostly see. She immediately covered the half lower part of her face with a surgical mask, as she searched through the wooden closet for the other things that she needed in this new mission. She knew that the she placed a book somewhere inside this closet.

After a little awhile, she finally found that she was looking for, which none other than her old diary that she often brings to missions back in the future. She thought that it would be a good thing for her to record her insights and inner opinions on what was happening.

After finally finishing her goal, she then turned her eyes back and saw the entirety of their room.

The room of course was a pigsty, with clothes all over the floor and the bed unkempt but most notable of interest was a large padlocked with number codes on trunk at the foot of the bed the blonde's bed, which Sarada decided to investigate. She recognized this trunk but she wasn't sure on was inside. There were a couple of things that came up to her: The trunk either contained the blonde's secret magazines or maybe just a bunch of unimportant things.

However, She still decided to investigate and proceeded to unlocked the trunk easily and opened the padlocked, through a combination of numbers that she had entered. Inside the trunk was a tattered black and red jacket with a white t-shirt, a black cloak, black pants, brown shinobi sandals, a sword in its scabbard, and, most interestingly, an old book and a Konoha headband that looked as though it had been around the block a few times, with two intersecting slashes on the metal piece.

"Oh, it's his old clothes." Sarada commented. It was none other than the blonde's old outfit that he'd wore back in the future as a nod to her Papa's style. However, she mostly took interest of the headband and further examined it.

There was a small identification slip on a certain part of the headband which read" Property of Sasuke Uchiha, which was scribbled and instead replaced by "Boruto Uzumaki." This headband was once belonged to her Papa, who was been gone for awhile now.

Sarada's instincts took over and she then turned her head to a certain small picture frame, with a stand that was displayed on a certain desk in the room. It was a photo of her Papa and herself, she smiled as she recalled the memories of the time this photo was taken, it was very much a wonderful moment, although this was very much a long time ago, she still felt that this just happened yesterday.

She thought of her Papa yet again. She knew that in a few days time, she will finally get to him in person, at least his younger version which was very much different from the person that she knew and loved. She just hoped that the meeting wouldn't end up in a very bad note.

Sarada sighed as she then placed the headband back inside and closed the trunk. She had enough of reliving these happy memories for awhile, for now she had to focus on the present and looked towards the future.

After finally packing some of her things up, she then proceeded to the kitchen and joined the siblings for breakfast before they head to the mission briefing with the fifth.

* * *

 **(LATER THAT DAY)**

 **(Konoha Hospital)**

Kakashi groaned as he just woke up from his sleep. He still found himself laying on his own sickbed, at the hospital, It have been a couple of days that passed since the sucessful rescue mission, which really drained him to the core. He also just found out that his replacement was none other than Yamato/Kinoe, a rival friend from his Anbu days. He began to wonder on why did Tsunade chose him, there were a lot of good candidates out there, this guy had no experience on handling teams! However, it was still no use as he had no choice but respect the fifth's decision.

The masked instructor of Team 7 stared at the white ceiling which he had been staring at for this past couple of days. He was used to being alone, of course there were visits from some of his friends which made him smile, but what really made him alive was that the nurse in charged of taking care of him was really pretty.

Kakashi considered himself to be the luckiest patient on earth, to have a pretty nurse like this. She had brown hair, hazel eyes, and an overall beauty that he had never seen before. Technically, he was often like this to other pretty girls that he come across with.

"Kakashi!"

He was suddenly brought back to reality by a very familiar voice. Kakashi then blinked a couple of times before realizing that there was a certain spiky white haired man standing beside him near the window.

"Jiraiya?" He muttered.

Jiraiya could only sighed." You've been staring at that nurse for awhile now, What gives?" He asked. Since Tsunade had left for the Hokage office, just awhile ago, Kakashi had been really focusing his eyes on the nurse.

"I guess that orange book of mine has really affected to you." He added.

Kakashi slightly chuckled. "Well, It's just one those things that I do, whenever I feel bored or maybe lonely, but please I would really love to read the latest edition of your novel ." He explained, he was still loyal.

Jiraiya just sighed." Well, there's nothing that I can do about it, I guess we're same kind of people in a way." He said.

"Kakashi chuckled again." Yeah I guess so." He said, he was referring to themselves being a little bit perverted. Although, there was something more from deep down inside that he had been longing for.

"But then again, I really want to see her." Kakashi said. She was referring to a certain teammate from a long time ago. Rin was really something else. To him, she was the perfect girl that he'd ever met but sadly, she left too soon.

Jiraiya gave a sad smile." Well, I understand but we gotta face the truth, even Tsunade is trying hard to forget her past." He explained. He had the feeling that his former teammate hadn't moved on from Dan and Nawaki.

Meanwhile, Jiraiya also took the time to tell his side of the story." Well, I guess you haven't heard this but I'm planning to asked her out on a date." He said.

Kakashi's eyes widened in surprised." Woah, you mean you're gonna try win her heart out!?" He asked. This was the first time he'd heard him speak like this.

Jiraiya shrugged and smiled." Well, something like that, but I'm still planning, so don't get too much excited there." He chuckled." It will take time."

Kakashi chuckled." Well, I guess that's just something new to me" He said." I hope someday I can finally meet someone."

It was a conversation that turned into a very light hearted moment. The two men discussed about the things that were recently going on with their lives. Their stories were similar as both talked about settling down from the shinobi life, if they really found someone.

Time was much faster than before and they were already getting old.

* * *

 **(LATER ON)**

Tsunade took a deep breath as she relaxed herself in her seat, it was a much different morning for her, instead of the usual do the paperwork stuff, she was having a cup of hot coffee of her own and listening to the small radio.

Apparently, she had just gotten back from a hospital visit to check up on Kakashi, who was still sideline. Although, the doctor said that he would fully recover in a couple of days time, but he would never had the chance to resumed his position as an Instructor of his team because today was the day that Team 7 were set to begin their mission.

She hoped that the man was not upset on learning about Kinoe, being his replacement as the instructor of the team. The two actually go long way back but besides, times have changed and Kakashi needs to let the guy do the reigns this time.

Putting that aside, Tsunade drifted her thoughts to what had transpired yesterday. It was a big reveal for her to know that Miyuki was the one responsible for sending the trio to the past, She had the enough evidence to prove that she can be trusted, she also learned that she had been hiding from an unknown enemy, but other than that, there was nothing more.

She also requested to meet the trio themselves if there was ever the time for it, and coincidentally, today was the day the trio was going to attend the mission briefing later at the office, to which she approved, because she might lighted up some mystery about all of this.

After awhile of waiting, the door finally opened to reveal the trio themselves.

"Morning! Granny!" Boruto, who was the first one to enter the room, greeted with his trademark smile, to which Tsunade had a nerve popped out from her forehead.

She really didn't like being called by that word, although, the blonde and his little sister were his future distant relatives.

"Good morning, Aunt Tsunade!" Sarada greeted with a warm smile as she was the second person to enter the room, she was packed and prepared for this mission.

Tsunade gave a smile, the girl really reminded her of her student, and in fact, she was her daughter from the future.

The last one to enter was Himawari herself, she donned her usual civilian attire, which surprised the older blonde woman, who widened her eyes.

"She is not coming?" Tsunade thought.

Himawari just smiled and nodded. She immediately went straight explaining the reason on why she chose to passed on this mission. Apparently, it was due to exhaustion that made her to decide that it was time to rest for awhile. She also assured her that she will be careful and not to spill out anything that would change the timeline.

She just wanted to live the normal life for awhile.

Tsunade nodded and understood the girl, and just like her, she gets tired eventually of things and she knows the limits." I guess, you'll be alright." She said to the girl.

Himawari just smiled and winked at the older blonde, she promised that she would be a good girl while the two are away for awhile.

With all that fixed and said, Tsunade then began the mission briefing. She then called Boruto and Sarada and beckoned them to listen carefully.

"Alright then, since Jiraiya had already told you on what the main goal of the mission would be about, I guess I should go to the part where there are two new members that were added to the team recently." She explained.

Boruto and Sarada took glances at each other, they were kind of surprised to hear the news but at the same time, they felt a little bit familiar about it.

"As of now, you two will still remain as observers for this mission, understood?" She added. She stressed the fact, that this mission was more dangerous than the previous one.

Both of the older teens nodded, they knew what was coming ahead of them and they were prepared whether they're observers or members of a team.

Tsunade took a deep breath as she finished the rest of the mission briefing, now it was finally time, for them to meet Miyuki. She then darted her eyes to the wall clock.

 _"At any moment now_." She thought.

* * *

After a few moments, the door suddenly opened and a person stepped inside and entered the room. It was a girl, she had short black hair with bangs, , she donned a simple light green dress and white bloomers, and she had that mature smile on her face.

Boruto widened his eyes in shocked and his jaw almost dropped on the floor. Himawari and Sarada became confused and puzzled, as they wondered on who was this person that just came to the scene. Their first thought was that there was a little girl that entered the Hokage office.

Tsunade gave a small smile as she used her eyes to greet the person, that she was expecting to come at this time of today, which was turned out to be none other than Miyuki herself.

"Sorry, I guess I'm a little bit late."

Miyuki, on the other hand observed the three teens in front of her, they were indeed the same trio that she had seen back in the future, it was a good thing that they were alright and properly settled.

"Y-You're that clinic doctor!" Boruto stutteted his way through the sentence. This was the customer that ordered ramen not so long ago.

Miyuki sighed but smiled." Well, it's kind of obvious isn't?" She said.

Boruto then turned his eyes towards Tsunade, then turned back to face the other. " _Do they know each other?"_ He thought.

On the other hand, Tsunade just sighed." By the way guys, this is Namaiki Miyuki, she is an acquaintance of mine, and she would like to have this time to talk to you three." She explained.

Boruto then raised an eyebrow in puzzlement but eventually nodded in understanding."Uhmm, I guess It's alright, Dattebasa." He said as he then turned around to face the girl yet again.

"Is there something you wanted to tell us Ms. Miyuki?" Sarada, spoke this time and asked.

Miyuki gave a small smile as she then took deep breath to get ready. This was going to be a very long explanation.

"Well, in fact yes, and its very important, but let's start by talking about on how and why you three, were sent here in the first place."

* * *

 **(A LITTLE LATER)**

It was like a mini-press conference to be exact, Miyuki found herself on the hot seat as she immediately became the center attention. Her eyes surveyed the surroundings as she found the trio staring at her wide eye like children waiting for a bed time story.

Apparently, Tsunade, who left the office for the canteen, had finally given them the privacy that they need for this important meeting. Now, only her and the trio remained in the room as silence took over.

Everybody was anticipating for her to start, the trio were eager to know the reason behind the destruction of their village and the whole truth of what really happened. They might finally know the reason why they ended up in the past.

Miyuki closed her eyes as she tried decide on what she should start with, there was a lot to tell and there simply not enough time for them learn all but most of the basic information. that, and she wanted to keep most classified things to herself. She wasn't ready to reveal the most important of all secrets yet.

Opening her eyes, she began to tell her side of the story." To start off, I believed that you were sent here for a reason." She watched the trio registering their actions and expressions carefully." And that main reason is that you guys might be the only one that can put to stop to all of this mess going on." She explained." She also waited for their reactions but so far, they were still listening.

"What do you mean by mess? Do you even know the person responsible for the destruction our home?" Boruto asked. The questions started to pour in his mind. Does she even know that Kawaki was the one responsible for all this mess?

Miyuki sighed and looked at him straight in the eye." Yes, I know that some kid with punkish black and blonde hairstyle did all the destruction, but what you guys don't know that is that there's something else more bigger behind all of this." She replied.

Sarada raised an eyebrow."Something bigger? Was it the Kara Organization? She asked.

This was turning into a guessing game for awhile as the trio took turns of guessing rhe correct answer.

Miyuki just shook her head." Nope." She said.

"The Akatsuki?" Boruto spoke this time.

"Nope."

"Does it has something to do with the Otsutsuki? Himawari spoke and asked this time.

Miyuki sighed but gave a small smile." You got a small part right, but nice try." She said.

" **Then What!?** " Boruto and Sarada yelled in unison. They tried everything that they know, on who was behind all of these, until something came up to the blonde.

"Was it those mysterious white cloaked people that I saw during a previous mission?" He said.

Both Sarada and Himawari then darted their eyes on him. What was he talking about? What does he mean by seeing these white cloaked people?

Miyuk, on the other hand, just smiled." Well, we can consider that a right answer, but here's the whole story." She said.

She took a deep breath and adjusted her seat, she was finally going to tell the main story and origin of all of this." To be honest, It's been a very long time since I've been to this world, and Yes, I'm not what you three think I am." She said as she began to drop some of the bombs.

"So you're not Human?" Sarada asked as this was the first thing that came into her mind.

"Well, something like that, but Kami created everyone as the same image as him." She replied, she also took the time to observed their reactions, all of them were very much surprised to hear that from her. She then continued" In addition, I'm not from this world or place." She paused.

"I'm from a place known as the _ **"Pure Land."**_

The trio was silent when they heard the word "Pure land" especially, Sarada who knew that the place that latter was referring to was none other than the aftelife. There were mixed reactions from the three right now. Miyuki saw shock, surprise and disbelief, many other emotions all rolling into one package on the trio's faces. Before they can bombard her with questions yet again, she continued to speak.

"If you want to know more, then listen carefully, our time is very short."

Miyuki explained, she knew that this was going to be telling of a long story.

 **(CHAPTER END)**

* * *

 **AN: Thank you for reading the chapter**!


	44. Arc 3: Learning the Truth Part 2

**I don't own Naruto. Kishimoto Does.**

 **Author's note: Hey there Readers!, Looks like we've finally entered Arc 3! I Hope you guys enjoy! I would also like to thank you guys for the Reviews. Favorites, and follows :) Thank you for also sharing your tips and thoughts for the story.** **.**

 **Take note 3: This chapter was quite a challenge to write but I hope I managed to blend in ideas well in this chapter.**

 **Take note 4: For any questions about Kawaki, He'll be in the story.**

 **Thank you for Understanding :)**

* * *

 **Arc 3 Phase 1 Finale**

 **Chapter 11: Learning the Truth Part 2**

I'm from a place as the " **Pure Land.** "

The trio was silent when they heard the word "Pure land" especially, Sarada who knew that the place that the latter was referring to was none other than the aftelife, the place where everyone goes to when they passed. There were mixed reactions from the three right now. Miyuki saw shock, surprise and disbelief, many other emotions all rolling into one package on the trio's faces. Before they can bombard her with questions yet again, she continued to speak.

"If you want to know more, then listen carefully, our time is very short."

Miyuki explained, she knew that this was going to be telling of a long story.

"As you all know, The Pure Land or Afterlife is a place or world where everyone goes to when they passed on. I also agree with you that it is indeed very wonderful place for everyone. However, as this point in time, things are not the same as everyone expected it to be." She paused for a little while," Apparently, there are things that had been going on right now that not everyone is aware off."

"What do you mean?" Boruto asked.

Miyuki stayed quiet for a few moments, before taking another deep breath and continuining the story." I supposed all of you heard or are familiar with the story of how the world and everything was created right?." She said, while the trio simply nodded.

"Well, what if I tell you there is a lost part of history that has been probably long forgotten? What if there's a much more bigger conspiracy happening from behind the scenes? Have you wondered why all of these events in history seemed strangely mean't to happened?" She paused for a little bit. There were mostly surprised reactions from the trio.

She then continued." Thousands of years ago, after the dawn of creation, there was poweful malevolent winged being known as **"Chaos"** that ravaged the world, no one knew were it came from but it was considered to be the entire aspect of evil itself." She explained.

"Chaos?" Sarada muttered under her breath. The name sounded so familiar as if she had read that on a book somewhere.

Miyuki simply nodded." Yes, and I bet you kids are really lucky enough not to live during that time." She commented. She was personally there to witnessed the wrath of the being. She then continued." It destroyed anything that came across its path and eventually its power was so overwhelming that it almost wipe out every living thing existing. She paused yet again.

"So this " **Chaos** " is basically the ultimate being of evil?" Boruto clarified, in fact he finally remembered reading about that creature from the book that he photocopied back at the Suna Grand Library.

Miyuki nodded. "Yes." She simply said.

Things were pretty much getting interesting for the trio, especially Boruto himself, who wants to know everything that he can gained knowledge off, there are things that he wasn't aware off and since he can see the truth in this person's eyes, he knew that he can finally know everything from the beginning.

Miyuki then continued." There were many attempts to prevent its destruction from spreading across but all of them were considered failures. Eventually, only Kami has the enough power to matched the being itself and that fully cost his entire life in the end." She paused to gather her breath.

* * *

 **(TRUTH)**

There was silence that took over inside the office, the trio were wide eye staring at the young woman. They all have the same reactions: Surprised, Shocked, and Disbelief. There was no way that Kami could be killed or gone that easily. He was the Kami-sama! the one that created everything and the powerful!

Himawari, was the one who was the most affected and shocked. All her life, she prayed every night to Kami, thanking him for the wonderful blessings, the protection, and the guidance for her family, and now she finds out that He was really gone. She didn't expected this.

Miyuki then took another deep breath, she then continued her story once again." Kami didn't have the grudge against anything, He knew that a clash between him and the creature would destroy and affect most of the world, so he chose the safest way possible." She said.

She would go on to explained that the only way for everything to be in one piece is to seal the being away instead of destroying him and endangering everything in the world. Kami loved his creations and it was a difficult choice that would put everything in risk but he was glad that he chose this way.

"In order for Chaos to be sealed, everyone had to be cooperative, from the ancient human alliances, deities, tailed beasts, and celestial clans such as the Otsutsuki clan, had united for the first time to stop and seal the beast and they did managed to successfully seal it." Miyuki paused for awhile.

"So what happened next? What happened to Kami?" Sarada asked.

Miyuki closed her eyes and took a deep breath, her memories brought her back to the time of his sacrifice. She then opened her eyes and continued." When the beast was successfully sealed, it also left a very huge trail of destruction which left the world in its weakest state. So, in order to restore the world back to its original state, Kami willingly gave up himself and became that new energy that would sustained life to the world." She explained.

Miyuki paused here, letting silence gather in the room as everyone digested her words with varying degrees of shock. Himawari had also used the time to open and eat her small bag of potato chip to which she brought along. The trio were quite and simply staring at her like she had just told them that she witnessed every event in history. The wide eyed, jaw dropping expressions their faces held was enough that she began snickering, a little bit to which consequently brought them out of their shock.

Boruto was the first one to speak. "So when Kami gave up his himself to bring everything back, then who took charged of everything from then on?" He asked.

"That's a good question Boruto!" She gave a small mature smile and continued." After the sealing of Chaos and Kami's sacrifice, a council was then immediately formed to keep his legacy alive and also to continue his works and goals."

I'm also a member of that council, for your information." She added.

Sarada widened her eyes in shocked." A council in the afterlife? Now that's something new." She commented. This was the first time that she heard a council being formed in the otherside, she was wondering if there was a governmental system in the Pure Land itself.

Miyuki just smiled and continued." There would be peace and harmony between worlds for another thousand years, until wars and conflict would eventually resurface yet again in the human world." She paused again as she adjusted her seat and continued." By that time, every conflict and war would be traced to your home land which would be known as the Elemental Nations in centuries time." She paused.

Meanwhile, Sarada was very much in her thoughts, which took her to the countless books and history that she'd read overtime. She recalled learning about the time before the dawn of the Shinobi era and realized that during those times, the majority of the land itself was plague by countless wars and violence.

"The council was very much aware of what was happening and did the best to create a win to win solution, but although it would only end up in a number of arguments and debates that would eventually go nowhere." She said." I also tried my best to sort the problems out and think of the best solution, but it was just a useless effort because of the fact that not everybody agreed with each other's opinions." She said.

She would also explained that the " **Pure Land** " wasn't the kind of place that it used to be as just like the Human world, it was also plague with unrest. She was present in all those meetings and she had seen the lack of unity as everyone in the higher levels as they constantly argued for the future of the world and it also caused major delays to Kami's goal of maintaning peace and progress.

 _"And I thought the afterlife was such a happy place._ " Boruto thought. The general knowledge was that everything in the next world was very much perfect.

"As time passed by, not a single solution was created, and since everyone was very busy arguing, there were things that happened in the human world without our knowledge." She paused.

"What things?" Sarada asked.

Miyuki then continued." It all started when a member of a celestial race called the Otsutsuki clan arrived in the human world in search of a God tree, a fruit tree that their whole clan needed to survive, Kami created these trees for the clan itself, and one of them was located in the human world. The main problem in this situation was that this member, who was sent to collect the fruits, disobeyed the clan's orders and became rogue." She said and paused.

Sarada, who was the more knowledgeable person in terms of Shinobi history amongst the trio, realized on who was this clan member, it was none other than Kaguya Otsutsuki herself, the Sage of the six paths' mother.

Miyuki gave a small smile." This girl knew her history." She thought and continued." There was an unclear or vague reason on why she became rogue and betrayed her clan but in my personal opinion, someone or something attempted to talk and convinced her to do it and to continue on, she eventually settled in this world and fell in love with a human." She explained.

"So what about the God tree? What did she do with it?" Boruto asked.

"During those times, wars and conflicts still ravaged the entirety of the land, and eventually she lose her faith in humanity and had gone insane, that she decided to take matters into her own hands. By eating the fruit of the God tree, she gained power, ended all human conflicts. She also led everyone to believed that she was their saviour and by the people's blessing, she single handedly ruled the land." She explained.

"Did the council did anything to stop it?" Sarada asked.

Miyuki simply shook her head." As I said, they were pretty much ignorant of what was happening and focused more on the other matters, so without the council's interventions, the human world became an unofficial territory of one insane rabbit girl." She said which caused little chuckles from the trio.

"Since the council was the main governing body of everything and did nothing, This was considered as a violation, although no preventive measures were used, I decided to take matters in my own hands and headed to the Human world to handle the problem." She said.

"So what did you do?" Boruto asked.

"Well, I carefully observed the situation going on, I would soon discover that she had two sons which pretty much will be the reason that will caused her downfall in the end. and so long story short, I talked to those two sons of hers and shown them the reality and her true motives, which was to kill them and take their power and rule everything again, and of course a chain reaction events happened that led to a battle between her and her two sons that ended up destroying the original moon, and although it also ended in her defeat and she was apparently sealed inside a new moon that was formed to keep her from being freed once again in the end." She paused to catch her breath.

"So basically, the elemental nations was Otsutsukinized, then freed and goes back to being normal again?" Boruto summarized and clarified.

Miyuki simply nodded." Pretty much, after that the brothers would then part ways, one would stay on the moon as a guardian and one would remained in the human world to spread the concept the Otsutsuki clan's chakra and the way of using it." She said.

"So that would be the Sage of the Six Paths." Sarada spoke this time.

Miyuki nodded." Yup, but I prefer to call him " **Hagomoro** " or maybe " **Hago** " for short." She smiled and continued." Eventually, the council would discover of what has happened and I was called back and scolded for what I've done." She added.

"Hey, but that's wrong! at least you did something to solve the problem Dattebassa!" Boruto exclaimed.

Miyuki sighed." Yes I know that, but eventually they gave me a warning that if I would do it again without their or knowledge or permission, I would be suspended or be banned from going to the human world again." She explained." So with that, I never went to your world for the next centuries but I still kept in touch of what was happening and witnessed your history unfold." She said. She mean't the whole history of starting from the dawn of Shinobi onwards to the present modern time.

There was a silence in the room yet again. Miyuki stopped for awhile to let the trio absorb some of the basic knowledge and information that she had told them. To be honest, it was a bit difficult for her to recall every specific memory from those thousand years of events and history. There were a lot, and she only picked those which are relevant and important to know.

Boruto simply nodded." So that means wars and conflicts still persisted even though Kaguya was gone?" He asked.

"Yes, despite efforts of Hagomoro to spread peace across land, the people would eventually weaponized their newfound knowledge of chakra and used it for the upcoming wars. Those wars would be known according to your history as the " **Great Shinobi Wars"** , including the recent one which was the fourth and of course the council did nothing yet again." She explained.

"So why do you always blamed the council for everything bad that happens?" Sarada asked.

Miyuki sighed." Because we are the ones responsible for maintaining balanced of the world, and simply I lost my faith in the council because of the incompetence that was growing amongst them and this is why you three came into the picture." She explained.

"During those times, I conducted several secret investigations to learn more and get to the bottom of all of these mess and I soon discovered that there was someone behind causing all of these wars and conflicts and that certain someone was also responsible for causing the Kaguya incident to happen many years ago."

Miyuki paused for a little a bit. She saw the faces of the trio, who really wanted to know on the main culprit and the reason why their home was attacked and destroyed, she then continued." When I paid a visit to the place of the Otsutsuki clan, the clan officials informed me that Kaguya was the daughter of the clan leader and the heiress as she was supposed to take the reigns by the time her father steps down, although she suddenly left one day and headed for the human world without any valid reason thus the rest is history."

"Wait so this Kaguya person is the heiress of the clan and she left just like that? But I thought she was sent to harvest the weird tree or something?" Boruto asked.

Miyuki just sighed." Well, those are the accounts from the differently sources, one is the general information of her being sent to the world then getting insane and the other one is just suddenly leaving her own family for no apparent reason or whatsoever." She explained.

"So which one is true?" Sarada asked.

"Well if you asked me, I would believed that the Otsutsuki themselves are telling the truth, although I was able to have the chance to talk to a close friend of the rabbit girl, and he told me that before she left, she was increasingly bothered and concerned about something, she also told him that she was being watched and threatened by someone, but she wouldn't reveal on who was it until that fateful time she left her homeworld, when she went to the human world, she left a letter to him telling that the main culprit came from the high council of the Pure land." She said.

Boruto's eyes widened in surprised." Wait a sec, so the one causing all of these mess is a member from the high council?" He asked.

Miyuki sighed." Apparently yes, I was also shocked and the results of the investigation led me to the fact that there was indeed someone causing all of these problems and by the time I found out on who it was, I was too late." She said.

"So who's the main culprit?" Sarada asked.

Miyuki took a deep a breath to gather herself, she was about to open her mouth when she caught a glimpse of a dark figure that flew passed by the open window. The trio also followed her direction and turned to the window just find nothing, then they turned back and gave her a confused look.

Miyuki sighed and gave a small smile "Sorry about that." She said as she the cleared her throat and continued." Well, the only problem was that she didn't tell the specific details and the letter was written as if she was in a dire hurry." She said." So I did another investigation and connected the dots, which led me directly back to the council itself and the found out the one responsible is actually a member, but the problem is that members of the council had their own motives and goals, so it's really hard to pinpoint which is one is the culprit." She explained.

"So have you managed to identify the main one?" Boruto asked.

Miyuki simply nodded." Yes, and I bet He's the one that orchestrated everything that has happened." She said. She would then go on to expained that all of these events, wars, and conflicts (After Kami's sacrifice) in history was mean't happened because He was the one that started this all.

The trio was silent yet again, especially Boruto who was in deep thoughts, He began to looked back on what has happened since then, from Momoshiki's attack on the village, the awakening of his Jougan, the arrival of Kawaki, the Kara organization and many more. This was all orchestrated by the main culprit himself according to the Miyuki. He also learned that Miyuki escaped the Pure Land and headed to the land of the living, to alert his dad and the rest of the village, but it was also the same day that the surprised invasion took place which was led by Kawaki himself.

"So I guess He's the one responsible for making Kawaki turned against me, the rest of everyone and destroyed the whole village." He said." I guess there's no turning back now." He added.

"Miyuki gave small smile." Well, you don't really need to worry about that, because of your Jougan, We are here and got a second chance to prevent all of this from happening." She said.

Boruto then widened his eyes and placed his hand on his scarred right eye. The Jougan, why did it suddenly acted wild and was this really main cause of this time travel mishap?

"As for your Jougan, I was very much aware that it has more extreme capabilities beyond, and I was right that it has the power to sent someone back in time, although it would take a lot of energy to do it, so it took me enough research to figure it all out." She explained.

The theory was that there is a way that she could possibly force a sort of reflexive action that would make Boruto unconsciously use his eye and by can throw needle fast enough and at the right time then you guys would be distracted doing so, She needed a pressure point or medical herb/poison that causes the activation of his eye. As a result, she created a needle coated in a a substance which consists a combination of herbs and chemicals that would make the theory possible.

"So when you kids were about to clash, It took all the moment so I for even a fraction of a second or maybe just a scratch could do, but eventually, the needle was able to successfully hit an area near your eye and unconsciouslly activated your Jougan." She paused yet again.

Boruto stared in disbelief, How could he not know about the Jougan's ability to turn back time? He also realized the reason on why he felt so drained when he first arrived here in the past a few months ago.

As for Sarada and Himawari, they felt so relieved right now, because of Miyuki's intervention and the blonde knucklehead's special eye, they survive and were still alived. They really had to make every move, in this second opportunity, count. For Boruto, He was glad to have this second chance to save everyone.

* * *

 **(MISSION DEPARTURE)**

Although, there were still a lot of questions hovering around his mind, He has still yet to asked the Miyuki about the identity of those white cloaked people and their connection to the villain. As He was about to opened his mouth, the door suddenly opened to reveal Shizune, who was apparently sent by Tsunade herself.

"Uhmmm, I apologized for the interruption but Lady Hokage just sent me to tell you guys to meet her at the gates" She said. She also explained that the blond woman was with Team 7 and they were waiting for them to catch up.

Miyuki smiled." Oh thank you for informing, We are just finishing our discussion and they'll be right there soon." She said.

"Oh, Okay then." Shizune smiled back and left the scene.

There was quietness yet again as Miyuki observed the trio, she noticed they were all in deep thoughts and were absorbing the new information that they had just received. It may come as shocking revelation to them but it was all the truth in one bag.

Boruto was the first one to break up the silence as he then sighed and stood up." Well, I think this is enough for me, too much information might make my head explode." He gave a chuckle as he tried to lightened up the mood.

The blonde then turned to the two girls and gave them a smile." Let's stop thinking about this for awhile and head to the gates, they might be getting impatient right now." He explained as he placed both of his hands on their shoulders.

He then turned to Miyuki and nodded at her." Thank you for telling us, It really helps a lot." Boruto said as he offered his hand to the latter.

Miyuki smiled and returned the offer as she shook hands with the blonde teenager." No problem and it was very nice to officially meet you three." She said." And I look forward to getting know you three more in this journey."

"Yes, we too, isn't that right gir-" Boruto was about to finish his sentence when he wad suddenly cut by his little sister who suddenly stood up, passed by him and headed to Miyuki and gave her a big hugged.

"Thank you very much for telling us! We will never forget this Ms. Miyuki!" Himawari exclaimed.

As for Miyuki, she just cringed in pain and forced a smile. Was this girl really that of a monster hugger?

Boruto and Sarada could only give themselves a chuckle. At least this conversation ended in a positive note.

* * *

 **(LATER ON)**

The day continued on as the Team waited for the others at the gates. Tsunade, who was also with them, had already informed the rest that the rookie trio from the last mission was to be assigned once again to the team although this time, one of the three was not coming along.

The news made Yamato feel surprised as He didn't knew about rookies being assigned as observers to teams like Team 7. However, this was his first time as a team instructor so maybe it was all part of the rules and system. On the other hand, it made the team's newest addition, Sai, who was a member of the root division, amused. He was curious and wanted to know more about this trio. He also thought that assigning them as observers might be useless in this mission unless they can contribute.

As for the two original members, they were pretty much surprised but glad to hear the news about the rookies being assigned again to the team. Especially Naruto, who had already met and had gotten to know his blonde look-alike. For Sakura, she was also pleased to know that she would be guiding the rookies yet again in this mission, especially Sarada, who she was able to befriend and spend time with during the previous mission.

As for Tsunade, she folder her arms and kept tapping the ground with her feet as she waited for the time traveling trio. Apparently, she had Shizune sent to fetch them at the Hokage office whenever the meeting was finally finished. She also had to let them be at the room as it was also a very classified meeting.

She also wondered on what did Miyuki told them, she guessed that it was probably things about the past and future. It also might be a discussion on how they would be going to prevent horrible future, although no matter what they've discussed there, she may never know.

She also thought of trio especially Sarada, who was the future daughter of Sasuke Uchiha himself, she wondered on how she was going to handle the situation, or how might Sasuke himself handle on seeing her if they managed to cross paths in this mission.

After awhile of waiting, the trio, accompanied by Shizune had finally arrived at the gates with them being ready and packed for this mission except for Himawari, who was true to her word, and only donned her civilian clothes with a goal of sending them off to their mission on a happy note.

"Sorry we're a bit late Aunt Tsunade but here they are." Shizune said as she apologized and presented them.

"It's alright." Tsunade replied as she observed the trio and noticed that a certain someone was not with them.

"Where's Miyuki?" She asked.

"Well, she went back to the clinic to continue her work, and plus she was a really nice person." Himawari said and gave a smile.

"Oh." Tsunade blinked a couple of times before shaking her head. She then darted her eyes to the blonde and raven haired girl." I guess you two already knew the details for this mission, so I won't be discussing this again." She said while the two simply nodded in understanding.

* * *

 **(MEANWHILE)**

Meanwhile, Naruto, who took noticed of Himawari, realized that in fact, she was revealed to be the person that was not coming for this mission and while Tsunade had the rest of the team gathered altogether for a final briefing, He took the remaining time to sneak out and talked to the lavender haired girl, who was a few inches away from the group.

"Hey Himawari!' Naruto called the girl.

As for Himawari, she was in her own thoughts thinking and worrying about the two, especially her big brother, did she did the right thing to not come along in this mission? It was already too late, she had made the decision and all she had to do was to pray and trust Kami but He was gone, so who's she gonna pray to?

"Hey there!" A familiar voice then called her.

Himawari snapped from her thoughts and looked up to see Naruto or her young dad coming up to her which she took by surpised." Da- I mean Naruto! You jumpscared me there!" She chuckled after that while scratching her head and then grinned.

Naruto gave an amused face, for second there he thought she was her sister or a family member or maybe something else, the way she did the reaction was somehow similar to what he does all the time.

He then straightened up and cleared his throat." Well, I noticed you were bothered and been staring at the two, is everything okay?" He asked.

Himawari sighed." Well, I'm just worried about them that's all and from what I've heard, this mission is really dangerous." She explained.

On the other hand, Naruto just sighed and smiled. He then placed his hand on her shoulder as a sign of comfort." Hey shouldn't worry, if you keep worrying, it might be the end of the world, Hehe." He tried to lightened up the mood which he successfully did.

"We will make sure that they're safe in this mission alright? So never lose hope Dattebayo!" He ended his sentence with his famous catchphrase.

Himawari gave a smile as it just automatically renewed her. Of course, it was her young dad telling her not to give up and drew that inner Uzumaki spirit from the inside. She then gave her young dad a big hug, a monster hug that is to which the blond could only secretly cringed.

* * *

 **(MISSION BEGINS)**

As the Tsunade concluded the briefing, the team was now to officially begin the mission as they prepared for their departure.

"All the best!" The fifth gave her send off words.

As the team finally departed, they had one goal in their minds, especially for Naruto and Sakura in this mission and that main goal was to find and bring back a long lost friend in the form of Sasuke Uchiha.

As for Boruto and Sarada, they were already prepared for what's ahead in this mission. Both knew that at some point in time, they were going to meet a person that was a huge part in their lives, Boruto looked up to him as his mentor while Sarada looked up to him as her Papa. He was none other than Sasuke Uchiha.

As the sun was reaching its peak, the team finally set off their journey as the retrieval mission had officially begun. Boruto took one more chance to looked back towards the gates in order to give his little sister an assuring smile that everything was going to be alright.

He also remembered Miyuki's words of advice that He should be alert and careful of the watchful eyes and long ears of the enemy, they could be or anywhere or everywhere just simply waiting to strike.

Boruto took note of her advice and placed somewhere in an important place inside his mind. With all these newly acquired information that he had received, it just made things more interesting from now on.

The only thing that he needs is to start and end this mission with bang.

 **CHAPTER END**

* * *

 **AN: Thank you very much for reading the chapter :)**


	45. Arc 3 Phase 2: Special Chapter

**Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto, Masashi Kishimoto does.**

 **Author's note: Hey there Readers!, I'm back with a new chapter! I Hope you guys enjoy! I would also like to thank you guys for the Reviews. Favorites, and follows :) Thank you for also sharing your tips and thoughts for the story.**

* * *

 **Arc 3 Second Phase:**

 **Special Chapter: The Uchiha**

The sounds of a heart monitor could be heard beeping all over a certain room. The room was indeed a very quiet place and it was almost shrouded in darkness if not for the small lamp that was displayed beside the door. In a specific spot in the room, a hospital bed was located, on the bed itself, lies a certain person in an unconscious silent state.

Not too long, the door to the room suddenly opened to reveal a man with has onyx eyes and ash-grey hair, which he normally keeps in a ponytail. His most consistent feature are his black rimmed circular glasses. He donned a dark purple shirt with a high collar, a white under-shirt, and dark purple pants with a white cloth waistband.

Kabuto Yakushi entered the room quietly as he headed to the certain bed where the most interesting person that he'd ever met was located. He held his clipboard and pen as his eyes finally met and saw Sasuke Uchiha, who was in a deep state of slumber.

 _"Looks like He's still unconscious_." He thought to himself. This was the third day that he was in this state since that grueling training session.

The man observed the Uchiha teen for a moment before darting his eyes towards the machines and monitors that were keeping and treating the teen well. He then proceeded to do the daily check up on the raven haired Uchiha.

"He's overall vital signs are normal and his wounds are recovering faster than before." Kabuto commented as he used his pen to checked everything on the clipboard. He was amazed that the kid could recover fast from a series of vigourous trainings that almost put him into the brink of death.

He's drive for revenge was still going strong.

Kabuto never understood this whole revenge thing coming from Sasuke Since day one when the kid arrived, he wasted no time on getting himself stronger day by day, he pushed himself on every training session that he had with Orochimaru.

The most suprising thing that he'd seen and heard is that the kid allowed himself to get experiment just to make himself stronger, which was one of the most craziest decisions ever made, just so that he could face his big brother and get his revenge on him for killing all their family and the entire clan.

Sasuke Uchiha was indeed a self-proclaimed tragic hero, who left and betrayed his own village. His fall to darkness was quick as lightning as all traces of his goodness can't be found in these past two years.

Kabuto also noticed that the kid rarely shown emotions everytime he'd seen him, He just really won't talk to anybody and if he did, it was to Orochimaru or himself that he would asked to send him people that he could fight to test his newly acquired skills, especially his Sharingan, which he would really torment them and show no mercy. For a teen at his age, he was already a fierce force and not to be mess with or else.

The Sharingan was his and Uchiha clan's most prized possession, the snake sanin had strive all these years just to get that ability. He failed the first time to take it from Itachi, but now he has this second opportunity to finally have it through Sasuke himself.

Speaking of the Sharingan, it was the main reason on why the kid ended up like this, the reason was simple, he had overused it during the recent training and sparring sessions with the snake sannin himself or it might be those headaches that the kid frequently suffers from then on.

These were two main cases and the man believed that both of these things caused him to end up like this. Kabuto would noticed the teen placing his hand on his head and cringing in pain, there were times that he would heard the kid mutter a couple of names of two persons that was pretty much unknown to him and could also barely hear from time to time. Sometimes, He would see the kid show strange emotions when he was all by himself.

He really had no explanation for the teen's headaches except for the fact that it happened whenever Sasuke was all by himself or training. The last thing that he noticed was that there was something else about him, he was really not sure but he led himself to thought that he was suffering on some kind of schizophrenic disorder but who knows? It was just a really strange but interesting case for him.

After he finished all the routine check up, Kabuto was now poised to leave the room to take handle on some other matters. Before leaving He took one last looked at the unconscious teen and observed him for one last time.

" _He's going to wake up in a few days time, Why should I be worried?"_ He smiled and commented as he then turned around to leave the room. There was nothing to worry about right now, it was a waste of time to worry for a person who is alive and well. He had other things to do.

As the door finally closed, silence took over once again. There was also tension that began to rise inside the room in every moment. Sasuke Uchiha laid down on the bed, there was a hint of consciousness brewing inside him as a few fingers from his right hand slowly began to move.

Not too long, his eyes suddenly opened revealing the blood red three tomoe Sharingan, and that only mean't one thing, he was now finally back.

 **(CHAPTER END)**

* * *

 **AN: Thank you for reading the special chapter.**


	46. Arc 3 Phase 2: Getting Along

**I don't own Naruto. Kishimoto Does.**

 **Author's note: Hey there Readers!, Looks like we've finally entered Arc 3! I Hope you guys enjoy! I would also like to thank you guys for the Reviews. Favorites, and follows :) Thank you for also sharing your tips and thoughts for the story.**

 **Take note: I had a very week again because of school But I was able to find time to write. Although, this might be the last chapter before I enter the preliminary exams this coming week. It's really going to be busy days ahead.**

 **Take note 2: For the readers who doesn't like this story and kept bashing it. I really don't care what you say or what you think. You are just wasting your time here and If you don't like the story, just leave.**

 **Thank you for Understanding :)**

* * *

 **Arc 3 Second Phase:**

 **Chapter 12: Getting Along**

 **(Earlier Before)**

 _ **Location: Hokage Rooftop**_

 _Miyuki stood by the roof deck and gazed at the view of the whole village. The wind was much stronger than before as she was expecting someone to arrive right at this moment. She was sure that the figure that she saw just awhile ago, while talking to the trio, was the one that she was waiting for._

 _For a little while, she dove down deep in her thoughts as she recapped on what happened in the past several weeks. She had to admit that it was a very long wait and it took her at least a three months of waiting for the trio to arrived here. In fact, she was the first one to arrived in the past and smack dab found herself up back as her past self._

 _In the original timeline, her tenure as a member of the council stretched from the beginning of its creation and until present day, where the everything started to fall apart in one sudden chain reaction of events. During the final stages of her investigation on finding out the main culprit, through an asset, she had managed to get hands on a blueprint or a plan that had been in the making for the past thousand years._

 _She discovered that all these events that happened in human world, specifically the Elemental Nations, where forced or manipulated to happened in someone's favor. From the Kaguya Incident, the Four Shinobi Wars, and the eventual peace that followed where all part of the plan to get the desired goals that he wanted. She also learned that the enemy uses the human world as some kind of chess board, where he uses the people that he view as his chess pieces to manipulate important events that happened in history._

 _For instances, the aftermath of the battle between Kaguya and her two sons saw the creation of Black Zetsu which was created by none other than the rabbit girl herself, who's purpose was two act as a spy, but the main culprit saw this as a chess piece and used it to corrupt and manipulate the older son of Hagomoro into darkness, thus it set off a bitter grudge that would last for hundreds of years._

 _This was an example of an event that was played into his hands. Although, Miyuki knew that was not case. She knew that most of the important events happened specifically in this timeline, and since this is where the blonde kid's Jougan sent her, she had no choice but to adapt to what was going on this time._

 _The first thing that she did when she arrived was to file a very long vacation leave in the human world, which to her surprised, the other members of the council gradually accepted and allowed, although it was already confirmed that she was not really banned from going to the human world. She also made sure that her leave would remain unnoticable from the enemy, although she expected that her true motives would eventually be discovered in the future._

 _Now that she was here, she had the chance to interfere and ruin his plan. She was going to enter this game as a a new player and will eventually have her own counter pieces against him. Before leaving the Pure Land, She instructed an asset/assistant to continue the investigations on the main culprit and discover any information regarding his plans and next move._

 _This is why Miyuki was here at the rooftop, she also considered this as a meeting place between her and her asset/assistant. Not too long, she felt a presence nearby and heard a series of noises coming from a nearby spot._

 _Miyuki then turned her head towards the source of the presence and noise, which was near the metallic wall gates after a few moments, something white and feathery came out from the wall gates of the rooftop, and was finally revealed to be a white duck with blue eyes and was wearing some kind of chinese cap, which struggled a little bit to climbed up before falling to the rooftop grounds._

 _Miyuki sighed and shook her head." Well, that was an entrance Showtaro, What took you so long?" She asked._

 _Meanwhile, the cute white duck now known as "Showtaro" continued to catch up his breath as it was really difficult for him to climb up the building. A few moments later, he finally recovered and flapped his wings to adjust his balance. He then gave a grin at the woman._

 _"Sorry about that Miyuki, I just had a bad fall, I thought was going to safely land on the rooftop but crap happens so yeah hahaha." He gave a chuckle to much to the confusion yet amusement of the young woman._

 _Miyuki just sighed yet again, she then wasted no time as she decided to get straight to the point." You're fine Showtaro, I'm really glad you were not caught, but can I asked if you manage to find some clues about his plan?" She asked_

 _By this time, the atmosphere around them changed, it was still a quiet and windy place but however there was a sense of alertness that began to rise up._

 _Showtaro took one more observation on his surroundings before darting his eyes towards Miyuki. He then took a deep breath before finally opening his mouth and lettting out the new information that he managed to acquire._

 _"Well, yes I managed to find several proposals that were written by him and then submitted to the council for an apparent check up." He explained."_

 _Miyuki raised an eyebrow." So what's this proposal about and when was this submitted?" She asked._

 _"The proposal was submitted not too long ago, and it contained details about a group of individuals that were going to be sent to the human world with the purpose of guiding recent souls who had just passed on, onwards to the afterlife." He explained._

 _Miyuki raised an eyebrow." Guiding souls? but I thought that type of process had been dissolved!?" She exclaimed. She thought that the council had already removed that type of process of bringing souls to the light anymore since they have brand new ways of doing it._

 _"I'm also surprised about it, plus the council themselves couldn't see anything wrong with the credentials and details of that proposal, that they instantly approved it with no hesitation. "He then took a short deep breath before continuing." But when I dug deeper into the mystery, I managed to get a hold of an important piece of information of the document." He explained._

 _"Do you have them right now?" Miyuki asked._

 _Showtaro then took a deep breath yet again and gave a grin." Well, apparently yes!" He said as he then drew out an brown envelope, which was labeled "Classified" and also contained the important pieces documents that he was talking about just now._

 _Miyuki then received the envelope and immediately opened it and drew out the documents. She then began to examined its contents to which she discovered and took note two vital pieces of information. First, she took note that were a number of 8-9 individuals that were being sent to the human world. Second, they were to be placed in specific locations which she thought didn't even make sense. For instances, there was one individual placed in a designated area somewhere in the desert where there stood ruins of an ancient structure which reached underground._

 _Miyuki wondered if there were any even people living in those ruins and since it was ancient, those people probably died and passed on to the otherside way before. Unless, there was someone new using it for another purpose and when she asked her asset about it, she got an interesting answer._

 _"Well, according to what I've studied, the ancient ruins right now is being used by a human named "Orochimaru" as location for his experiments." He explained and then continued." This person is apparently a madman and has probably killed a lot of people."_

 _"Well that's scary, Have you checked his background by the way?" She asked_

 _Showtaro simply nodded." Yup apparently, this guy originally was a shinobi from the leaf village before going mad and betraying his own home." He said and then continued." In my personal opinion, the death of his parents, who were mysteriously assassinated, is the main reason on why he became crazy in the first place." He explained._

 _Miyuki simply nodded while still examining the papers." Looks like He was a witness to his parents' death, Who were they anyway?" She asked._

 _"Well, the guy's father was a bodyguard for the first Mizukage, He resigned from his post to live a normal life and had married a young woman from the leaf village and permanently settled there. However, some of the guys from the Village of the Mist thought that He had gone rogue and betrayed his own village so they sent hired assassins to kill him and his wife years later." Showtaro paused for awhile to let the other absorb the information." And I guess you were right that He had witnessed their deaths." He said._

 _Miyuki just sighed, she was used to hearing tragic stories much like this, she also deduced that this Orochimaru person suffered a trauma that would eventually make him insane as he would looked to experimentation just to be immortal or maybe bring his parents back to life._

 _"Well, the good news is that his parents are now in the Pure Land and doing good although, it seemed that they had apparently forgotten their son." Showtaro explained and then continued." And I have arranged a scheduled to pay them a visit to know more details." He said._

 _"Well, that's even more worse, but do you really think this Orochi person is their target?" She asked._

 _Showtaro shook his head." Well, that could be possible although I really need to research more on this, but for the meantime, just stay tuned and when there is clue, Il'l immediately inform you about it." He said with a grin._

 _On the other hand, Miyuki decided to checked the list of individuals that were on the document, she studied and began to realized that this group of 8-9 persons seemed so familiar. Even though, she was already a thousand years old, she had a habit of forgetting the people that she had met over the years and also events that transpired._

 _As for main culprit, She knew him personally and was actually good friends with him since the beginning. He was there to protect her during the climax of "Chaos" sealing and he was a member of the council alongside her and helped maintained peace and balanced. Although, she really can't believed that He was the one responsible for all the mess that happened throughout those years. Back in the original timeline, she was too late when she had learned the real truth and by sheer of fate, the Jougan allowed her to go back and prevent this from happening all over again._

 _By this time, she had finally remembered that about those 8-9 persons that were sent to the human world, they were his personal group of henchmen that he recruited throughout the years. She didn't managed to get to know them but she was sure that they were notorious._

 _If those people were really the group of individuals that were sent to the human world then the game has gotten a lot harder this time, and they were really considered a threat to anyone who comes across them._

 _Miyuki then took a deep breath and gazed back at the view of the village. There was concern building up from the inside as she thought of Boruto and Sarada, who were currently in the early stages of their mission. She really hoped that they won't have to cross paths with them, but at the same time, they were the only hope that could put to stop to all his plans._

* * *

 **(PRESENT TIME)**

The countryside really looks great!" Boruto commented as he observed and looked out across the rice fields in between the road that they were walking along.

It had been half a day since the team had departed the village, and in those six hours, the two groups had traversed the different placed en route towards their destination, which was none other than Orochimaru's hideout, where their target could be possibly be also located in for this retrieval mission.

Not much had happened in during those hours, the team was pretty much only greeted by the calmness of the forest then the wider and clear vast image of the countryside. It was a more better journey than the last previous one for Boruto and Sarada as there were no traces of arguments or conflicts happening inside the team.

Both of the two were also engaged in a conversation while the rest where eerily quiet which was first noticed by the blond himself.

"Is it just me or is everybody really quiet for half of the day, Sarada-chan?" Boruto whispered to his teammate only to find out that she was surprisingly busy with a familiar object.

Sarada, who was able to hear the blonde's voice, took out one of her earphones" Yes Boruto?" She asked, giving him her attention.

On the other hand, Boruto blinked a couple times in surprised before snapping back to reality. He was really in disbelief on what he was seeing right now." Hey, Isn't that what I think it is?" He said.

"Oh you mean this?" Sarada said as she took out a small rectangular black object, which emitted colourful lights and shapes. It was none other than a smartphone, which she held right in her hand.

"B-But How?" Boruto stuttered throughout his words. It was really impossible for a device like this to exist in this timeline except in the future where they were just everywhere.

"Well, its a very long story but to summarize, It turns out that I've keeping my phone in my pocket ever since we got sent to the past, and I forgot about it." Sarada explained as she gave a grin and a slight chuckle.

Boruto raised both eyebrows." Oh, does it still have its signal?" He asked.

Sarada gave her small sad smile." Unfortunately No, since we are in the past and the signals here are not compatible with advanced devices like this." She paused for a little bit. "Although, the good news is that the phone still has its batteries alive and well, which means it also has it's memory retained and that I can listen to songs whenever I want to!" She expressed her joy of unexpectedly reuniting with one of her treasured things from the future.

Boruto then scratched his chin and wondered."I think that's cool, but if I were you, I would be careful on showing that to the people here. I mean who knows? They might treat as some kind of alien weapon, if you know what I mean." He explained.

"I understand what you are trying to say, but by the looks of it right now, I think the others don't mind about it." Sarada said as she was referring to the rest of the team who were really focused on other things.

She then gave a smile." Besides, because of this thing, I finally now have the chance to take a lot of selfies in this mission hehe.' Sarada chuckled.

Boruto could only sighed but smiled and shook his head." I guess that would work, besides you can also record signifance events that happened in this current mission right now." He said.

Sarada smiled." Well, why don't we take our first selfie right in the road?" She smiled and asked as she looked at him straight in the eye.

As for the blonde himself, he was taken surprised when his teammate said that. They were on the road as such things like this haven't been done before, not in this timeline. Although, there goes a saying " _You only lived once_ " so why not?

Boruto eventually agreed and nodded as he and his raven haired teammate then posed for their first selfie in the past, The blonde was doing the peace sign while the raven haired girl was giving her usual selfie pose and after a few moments, Sarada pressed the button and thus the first selfie was finally taken.

* * *

 **(LATER ON)**

The whole journey was expected to be uneventful, at least for the first half of it. Along the way the time travelling duo immediately noticed a strange tension building up as they darted their eyes to focused on Naruto and Sai who were staring at each other as the tension was most likely building up between them.

As they were in the midst of their journey across the countryside, thoughts began to crawl up on Naruto's mind as He began to doubt this newest member of the team." I guess, He does sort of looked like him a little bit." He commented inside his mind. There was this comparison between him and sasuke that had been going on since the beginning of the mission.

At the same time, Sai suddenly turned towards the blonde and gave him a look." What it is and why do you keep staring at me like that?" He asked, which caught the attention of the pink haired girl.

Naruto ignored the question as he still continued to observed him." He talks much like him too!" He thought once again.

"Can you please stop staring me like that or else I'll smack you in the head." Sai added, with a calm voice.

This triggered Naruto's temper as he clenched he clenchef his fist right in front of him." You know, every time you talked, you piss me off! Dattebayo!" He exclaimed. "This jerk isn't a bit of Sasuke after all!"

"It's nothing personal."

"Yes it is!"

"I'm just a potraying myself as a kind person, who say things like that."

"I don't care!"

The argument between the two burned like wildfire. Both of them exchange words as if they were in heated debate. Naruto argued the fact that such a person like him can never replaced his former teammate while the other just continued to fire sarcastic tirades which only fueled the conflict.

"You will never be a part of this team! You're just a temporary replacement!" Naruto exclaimed, which finally caught the attention of the team's replacement instructor Yamato.

Everyone stopped their tracks as their attention solely focused on the ongoing conflict between two teens. For Boruto and Sarada, they were caught in the midst of an event that was pretty much new to them. They were surprised to discover that there was an ongoing beef between him and Inojin's dad, the first time these two guys met.

"Hey now! this no way how you act in front of your captain, Naruto?" Yamato finally spoke as he confronted the two teens." Trust and Teamwork are the two most important attributes of a team." He explained.

"I know Kakashi-san taught you that way." He added." He is a great man, and considering that you're a part of this team, your attitude worries me."

"I know that Yamato-sensei, but this guy is not part of the team!" Naruto argued back as he pointed his finger unto the paled skin teen.

"The only member that is a part of this team is Sasuke!" He added." This guy is only chosen to fill in the gap that He left."

"I refused to accept him as a teammate!"

There was silence amongst the rest of the team. Boruto and Sarada couldn't believed what the future seventh hokage had just said about this person that would eventually become a trusted friend and a good man in the future. Right now, they were really not sure whether to interfere or not. They never really knew how hot-temprered the blonde really was when he was younger.

On the other hand, Sai just smiled. He wasn't really affected at all and responded." Well, that suits me fine, Sasuke left the village and run off to join and serve Orochimaru."

"Please don't put me in the same group as that traitor and little homo." Sai calmly added the most insulting part of his sentence.

Boruto and Sarada managed to control their temper and reactions when the guy just insulted the man. They understood on what was happening in this situation.

As for Naruto, He narrowed his eyes in irritation and anger as he clenched his fist as he was about to charged at the guy for firing insults directed at his friend, when a certain pink haired teammate stood in his way to prevent him from doing it.

"Naruto." Sakura said as she halted her blonde teammate. She also beckoned the blonde to turn towards the two rookies, who were just watching the whole scene unfold.

"Oh." Naruto muttered as he quickly realized on what he had just done and immediately controlled himself. He then gave the two rookies, a wave and an apologetic smile.

'I apologized, Please forgive Naruto, He doesn't know your whole story." Sakura said. She was much calmer than expected while Naruto turned his attention back to her.

"It's alright, apology accepted !" Sai smiled. He thought he had won the battle.

Sakura just stood there and silently smiled. " Oh really? that's great!"

 ***BAM!***

* * *

Everyone widened their eyes in shocked when the pink haired girl suddenly landed a fist and a punch that directly headed towards Sai's face as he was sent a few distances away and landed and slided on the ground.

Sai was able to unconsciously braced himself from getting a horrible land as the might of the pink haired girl's punch was just so fast and strong. He held his bruised cheek and stared at the pink haired teen.

"I, on the other hand, don't care if you forgive me!" Sakura spoke." And you don't ever talked about Sasuke-kun like that!"

"Or else, I'll punch you for real next time." She said and threatened him.

"I never knew Mama would be such a badass when she was younger." Sarada commented. She can see that her young Mama really loved her Papa even before back then.

 _"And I guess this is the reason why everyone should not really mess with her."_ Boruto added to his thoughts.

As the conflict continued, Sai recovered from the ground and stood up. He was not giving up that easily as he slowly walked towards the two main teens, while still firing out his thoughts.

"You know, with that fake smile, you could literally fool anyone." Sai said." But of course I really won't interfere with your past or problems or whatsoever."

"It's just really a waste of time to be honest." He added.

Naruto gritted his teeth in frustration." Why you son of a-" He was about to charged yet again when something unexpected yet again.

 **"Mokuton: Shichuuro No Jutsu!"**

Yamato exclaimed as he formed a hand sign which in turn summoned a series of giant woods from the earthly ground that burst out to to form a huge cage shaped-like object that mightily stood in front of everyone.

"No way..." Boruto muttered, He knew he'd seen a lot of these wood tricks before in the future but this was the first time that he'd seen this performed with style.

As for Sarada, She somehow figured out that this type of jutsu belonged and performed by the none other than the First Hokage himself. She just wondered on how a person like Yamato could have that ability. Unbeknownst to raven haired girl, Sakura also had the same thoughts as her.

Meanwhile, Yamato stood there with a sterned face while crossing his arms. He was really not in the mood for this kinds of childish conflicts, He had a goal for this mission and that was to guide this teens along the way. Although, when everything seemed to be going out of hand, He had no choice but to finally interfere and implement discipline.

"Here's a proposal for you kids." He said." I can either locked all of you, (except for the two rookies) in this cell for one day to improve your teammwork or we could spend the rest of the night in the hot spring."

"Which do you prefer?" He added.

When the brown haired instructor mentioned the word "Hot Spring", everyone was taken by surprised, especially for Boruto and Sarada who didn't expected that a trip at the hot spring would be included in this mission.

"I guess you three don't know me well that much and How I handle things with diplomacy." Yamato spoke once again." I really don't mind on controlling people with fear." He said as he gave his infamous scare face.

Naruto immediately freaked out from the man." What the heck Dattebayo!" He comically exclaimed as he hid behind his pink haired teammate. He really never seen a face so scary that it would almost make you crap.

"Really Naruto?" Sakura sighed at her blonde teammate's overreacting antics. Although, this was indeed the Naruto Uzumaki.

Yamato then took a deep breath and spoke." So let me ask again, which do you prefer?" He asked.

* * *

There was silence that took over the area. The three main members of the team kept quiet and just stared at the brown haired instructor. They were just suddenly faced by two choices and they really have to make the right decision in a short time.

However, the silence was then broken later when a certain familiar blonde rookie raised his hand and spoke." Uhmmm, I guess going to the hotsprings is a lot better than being stucked in a creepy wooden cage."

The rest turned to see the blonde rookie, Boruto who was the one that broke the silence and apparently made and sealed the final decision.

Yamato then gave a smile." Well, then I guess this rookie is far more faster on deciding which is better than the rest of you three." He said, with an intention of motivating the three main members to work together.

On the other hand, Boruto just gave a nervous grin. He really didn't like interfering with other decisions but he was gonna really do it for the greater good of everybody and to also saved the day.

He just hoped that He didn't made everyone offended right now. Although, the smiles from Naruto and Sakura proved that the two weren't and especially Sarada, who supported him all the way.

As for Sai, He almost forgot about this rookie who was with them during the journey. He really looked a lot liked Naruto but there was something different about him that he couldn't figured out.

As for Yamato, he was having the same thoughts as Sai, he knew that he was handling a number of members in this team and besides Naruto, this blonde rookie and his raven haired friend had fueled his interest on getting to know them more.

These two rookies were really mysterious to his eyes.

* * *

 **CHAPTER END**

 **AN: Thank you for Reading the Chapter**!


	47. Arc 3 Phase 2: Public Hotspring Part 1

**I don't own Naruto. Kishimoto Does.**

 **Author's note: Hey there Readers!, Looks like we've finally entered Arc 3! I Hope you guys enjoy! I would also like to thank you guys for the Reviews. Favorites, and follows :) Thank you for also sharing your tips and thoughts for the story.**

 **Expect some grammar and spelling mistakes**

 **Thank you for Understanding :)**

* * *

 **Arc 3: Second Phase**

 **Chapter 13: Public Hot Spring Part 1**

 **Sarada's Diary Entry**

 _ **" This has to be my first entry log since we arrived here in the past, it was a good thing that this old journal of mine is still in one piece. I was able to find it deep down the storage room back at the apartment and here I am writing my thoughts on a small book.**_

 _ **To go on with my story, its really been one heck of a ride since the time we arrived here, we really had to adapt to the changes around us, from wandering out of the woods to stumbling ourselves in a familiar place that we thought was already gone and to living a new life in that place that we called Home.**_

 _ **We also found ourselves being given new identities and being assigned into missions by the fifth Hokage, who was the one that took care of us and protected our secret. She was also a distant relative and a family friend back in the future. One mission had already been done which turned out to be life risking and a few days after that very mission we're suddenly thrown yet again into another one.**_

 _ **This second mission revolves around rescuing and retrieving back the younger version of Papa. Boruto and I have been really prepering ourselves for the meet up because from what I've heard, the original version of this mission didn't turned out good for everyone.**_

 _ **I just hope everything will be okay after all of this."**_

* * *

 **(A CONVERSATION)**

It was another tireful yet eventful day for the new version of Team 7. They found themselves at a public resort and hotspring in the middle of their journey on towards the Tenchi Bridge.

As for the time travelling duo, the two of them describe the mission so far as somewhere between just plain quiet and almost being turned into a reality TV show with the beef between Naruto and Sai going on recently. They almost thought that there is gonna be a fight that will be take place sooner if Yamato hadn't intervened awhile back.

Who knows what would happened if Boruto hadn't spoke up and choose the more relaxing way of settlings at a public hotspring. How would three main members of the team get along inside a single giant wooden cage in one day?

Sarada took a deep breath as she rested herself in a particular chair. She placed her diary and pen on the table and then moved her eyes to explore her surroundings which was dominated by the customers that were in line to buy their tea. The raven haired teen found herself at a local tea shop inside the huge resort and she apparently decided to spend the rest of the time here while her blonde teammate was in the hotsprings with the rest of the guys.

Sarada took a sip of her hot cup of tea as she enjoyed the silent ambience of the place, her thoughts also began to fill her mind up as she thought about some things that about the past that she didn't know about. Things such as the young seventh's ongoing conflict with Inojin's dad and a long mystery that she was eager to know about, which was her Papa's relationship with his team.

She remembered how her parents would have these small team reunions with the seventh and also Uncle Kakashi. She was also present at those reunions and had the chance to witnessed those bell test sessions and how would the sixth Hokage would turned pale when the bell test began.

She also thought of being in this world, a world so familiar yet different, she remembered her original home which was had a modern lifestyle and fast- paced lifestyle, it was really crazy compared to where she is now. Life in the past was so much simpler and easier minus the dangerous side of things. She also wondered if her parents were here, they would be really glued to her right now, especially her Papa, who was the most overprotective father of all fathers.

Speaking of her Papa, she also thought about the younger version of her Mama, who was really a very kind and strong person, she noticed that her personality was exactly the same as of her future self, although she was still learning things. When she first met younger Mama, she didn't have the courage to speak to her since all those memories would suddenly came back and would overwhelmed her. But as of now, there was improvement and she was starting to get to know her more.

It was also at this moment when a very familiar voice suddenly interrupted her thoughts.

" **Hello**." The voice simply greeted.

Sarada looked up only to see a certain pink haired teen, who was none other than her younger Mama, donning her usual red outfit and standing right in front of her with a warm smile on her face.

"Oh, hello Sakura-san! What brings you here?" Sarada said. She was a bit caught off guard as she greeted as if there was a respected person right in front of her.

Sakura just sighed but smiled." Well, I'm not really sure on what's the deal with you respectful rookies, but you can just simply call me "Sakura"." She explained.

Sarada widened her eyes in surprised." Oh, I'm really sorry about that Sakura, I guess I'm just a really respectful person." She gave a slight chuckle. She was really not used to calling her mama by her first name, which was really weird for her.

"Well, being too respectful is already too much, but it's alright, you don't have to apologized." Sakura said as she sat down on the empty seat in front of the raven haired teen.

"So what you brings you here by the way?" Sarada repeated the same question from awhile ago. She thought that the pink haired teen was in the hotsprings.

Sakura just simply smiled." Well, I was at the hotsprings for a short period time, but I left because of a certain loud teammate of mine." She said. She would go on to explained that while she was quietly relaxing herself in the springs, the loud annoyed voice of one certain Naruto Uzumaki began to break the peacefulness up as an argument between him and Sai on who has the longer junior took take place.

It was a quite sensitive topic and that made the pink haired teen leave the area because of the laughter from the other female customers and the growing embarrassment that she had inside.

Sarada could only give a cringy smile as that was a really an inapprotiate topic to discuss about." Did he really say that aloud?" She asked.

Sakura sighed and simply nodded." Well, I'm the one that should apologized, I think It's pretty embarassing on how we are acting in front of you two." She said." We were supposed to be ones guiding you in this mission, I just don't really know what causing us to act like children." She gave a chuckle.

Sarada gave a smile." It's alright, the two of us understand on what you guys were going through, from what I heard from Kakashi-sensei, the team had a former member named " **Sasuke Uchiha** " who left the village?" She asked.

Sakura nodded and gave a sad smile." Yes, he was a very close friend and teammate, in fact, the team was close as a family before he left." She explained.

"Why did he left the village though?" Sarada asked."

Sakura sighed as she remembered the last time she saw him." Well, there were a lot of reasons, I personally think that he left because he really wanted to become stronger and avenged the murder of his family." She explained.

"But does that make him a bad person in some kind of way?" Sarada asked. Her Papa was considered a dangerous criminal during this time and she wanted to clarify if what they say was really true.

Sakura shook her head and gave a smile." I wouldn't think that way, just because he left that he is now deemed a criminal and suspect for life. I think there is still good in him, and that's why there are missions such as this, in order to bring him back." She explained.

"That's why we never gave up on him, especially Naruto, who would go over to the ends of the earth just bring him back. He was like a brother to him." She added.

"Oh." Sarada was just very much surprised to hear that from the pink haired girl. She really had a point that there was still good left in him, and she could see the determination and hope in her eyes or was it really love that fueled her all these times?

"So what was he like?" She asked. She also wanted know a hint of her young Papa's personality.

Sakura sighed and smiled." Well, He's probably not the most happiest person but he really cares to the people that he loves, He just really doesn't show any of his emotions or feelings." She explained. Even though, Sasuke left, she still loved him.

"So what do you think of Naruto, from what I've heard, He really likes you?" Sarada asked.

Sakura only sighed yet again." Yes, I'm aware of that and to be honest, I treat Naruto as something of a little brother, because that's how I see him since we were kids." She explained." And He doesn't have a clue about it yet."

"Oh I see." Sarada nodded in understanding. Looks like she was beginning to understand on why her Mama would always reject his advances everytime.

"And speaking of Naruto, I noticed that He and Bolt are really looked alike, from the hair, eyes and so on, they can be considered as twin brothers!" Sakura commented. The resemblance was very uncanny, people would get confused if it not for those two white patches in both of his cheeks.

"Yeah, I can see that. I guess we're living in a very amazing world, where sometimes everybody just coincidentally resembled each other." Sarada said as the two girls gave a good laughed at the subject.

"Although, If I may asked, what are the two white patches in his cheeks for?" Sakura asked.

Sarada then took a deep breath. She had to come up with a possible explanation." Well, when our village was destroyed by bandits and raiders, Bolt was the one that protected us and he got himself injured when we were escaping." She explained.

"Oh yes, I remember now, I'm really sorry about what happened to your home and your families." Sakura apologized. She really felt sorry for the raven haired girl. She also had this feeling of unexplainable sadness for the rookie.

Sarada simply smiled." It's alright, we've pretty much moved on from all of those, our goal for now is focused on the future ahead and start a new life." She explained, although there was still a part of her that won't let the old memories go.

Sakura just gave the girl a surprised looked. She was really amazed on how the girl was coping right now. The raven haired rookie really had a strong personality and she also wondered, about the identity of her parents, she can somehow see a familiar person in her, does she personally knew her mother or father?

Sakura shook her head to put those thoughts aside." Well, if you guys really need something, you can talk to us and we will be there to help." She said to the rookie as she looked at her straight in the eye.

Sarada blinked a couple of times before responding"T-Thank you so much Sakura, I never really thought you guys would be this supportive to us." She said.

Sakura simply smiled." Don't worry, you guys are part of the Team 7 family now and-" She was about to continue her sentence when she suddenly felt a slight ache in her head. She felt a bit dizzy and held a hand in her forehead.

"Hey are you okay?" Sarada immediately noticed and voiced her concern.

"Yeah, I'm fine it's just that I've been having these occasional headaches recently, I think it must've been the fatigue that I had accumelate all throughout this journey." Sakura explained as the headache instantly disappeared.

"I guess so, do you think Naruto is having the same headaches as you have too?" Sarada asked.

Sakura just simply shrugged." I'm not really sure, but for now I guess he's still at the hotspring continuing his argument with Sai." She said while shaking her head in disappointment.

Who knows on what would they were doing back at the hotsprings right now.

* * *

 **(MEANWHILE)**

It was an uneventful time back at the hotsprings, the blonde rookie expected it to be just one of those normal days where he would just enjoyed the relaxing warm water in peace when something happened yet again that would really make this day eventful.

It was none other than Yamato, who started it all. First, He suddenly broke the silence and called up the rest of the guys to partake in this unecessary introduced yourself speech which was really weird for him, followed by a mens only discussion which emphasized about the importance of the ultimate male bonding in a hotspring and its dangers that every male goer must avoid. When the topic went to the true story of how Jiraiya suffered the consequences when he tried to peek at the women's section, this sent shivers down to Naruto's spine when he was about to do the same thing that his mentor did long ago.

Sai then entered the conversation and blurted out a few lethal jokes and insults which fueled the blonde's temper which caused him to retaliate back with his own words which led to the current situation right now.

Boruto wasn't really sure on whether this was some kind of drama scene from a movie or a just a public social experiment stunt being performed right now. He tried to understand on what the fuss was all about but he just can't seemed to figured out the point of this whole argument between the two.

Cerulean eyes just darted around, observing, and watching the two certain people as they continued their argument. His young annoyed dad, who was very much leading the way and the other one was Inojin's dad, who has calmness in his side, deflecting and countering every verbal attack that his young dad would throw at him.

It was a bit relieving that it didn't esclate into a wrestling match, it was just them trash talking on who was more manly and had the most awesome junior, which was also a very inappropriate topic to talk loudly about right now. It was after awhile went Yamato had left the scene that the argument slowly began to escalate.

"Oh Geez." Boruto, who had a white towel place on top his head, just sighed and shook his head. He felt like a parent watching over a kid and making sure that kid doesn't do anything idiotic that would caused his entire existence on the line.

He was also itching to take the two white patches off his cheeks as he was not used to wearing them when taking a splash in the water. Although, he had no choice because everyone would wonder on why he had same whisker-like marks as the other blonde and it might caused a chain reaction of disasters.

" _When are they gonna stop? This is getting embarassing_." Boruto thought to himself. There was a limit on how much bull crap that he could take and he wasn't just going just stay here and be stuck in the middle of all these laughters and awkward stares coming from the other guest.

 **"It's all your fault that everybody is laughing!"**

 **"Why me? It was obviously you, who started this all idiot."**

It was a battle between rage and calmness, Naruto was not aware that he was raising his voice all over the place, He was trash talking the newest member of the team and He didn't even care if he had to go into another verbal fight with him. He was just too annoying and weird.

Although, the battle would halt into an abrupt end when the knucklehead blonde was then suddenly pulled from behind by none other than the rookie himself.

"Can you please stop!? This is getting embarassing ya know?" Boruto scolded and whispered to his dad's ear.

Naruto widened his eyes in shocked and immediately shut up his mouth. He was taken by surprised in the middle of his sentence when Bolt had interrupted and pulled him down back to the water." What the heck are you doing!? Dattebayo!?" Naruto asked.

"Bringing you out from shame, I guess." Boruto simply explained. He was about to continue his sentence when he was interrupted by Inojin's young and sarcastic dad.

"It was a good thing that you pulled him down, He could've caused a catastrophe for all I know." Sai smiled and said as he stood up and began to leave the area.

"By the way though, I find it weird that you wore those two patches in your cheeks, is it a part of your culture? or are you just trying to be different?" Sai commented as he wrapped around his towel and left the scene.

There was silence that followed, Boruto just stared, narrowed his eyes, and gave him a looked. This was actually the first time that he had conversed with the guy and it was a direct tirade at him, which he thought was a bit disrespectful while Naruto gritted his teeth in annoyance. He pretty much thought that guys like him should be taught a lesson that he won't forget.

* * *

 **(LATER ON)**

"I really don't understand on why you have to argue with him!?, It's pointless if you know what I mean!"

It was something out of another scene from a movie. It was some kind of role reversal situation where Boruto found himself scolding his young dad which was really awkward for him. He was the one who usually gets scolded back in the future.

The two blondes were already out from the hotspring and were currently sitting in their own respective chairs inside a gazebo. Both were now properly dressed in their clothes, Boruto was wearing his civilian clothes that he brought for the mission while Naruto donned a thin cloth gray jacket matched with gray shorts.

Naruto was silent all the way, He appreciated the rookie's words of encouragement but all that he was thinking about was that irritating Sai that he considered as a bad thing for this mission.

"So if I were you, I would really just ignore him, I find that really effective to be honest." Boruto ended his speech, and he hoped all that he said managed to enter his young dad's head.

Naruto just sighed." Well, to be honest Bolt, He is really crossing the line and getting on my nerves Dattebayo." He explained. He really can't moved on from what happened just now.

At this moment in time, Boruto learned some of the important things from his young dad's personality. First, He was very hot-headed, second, He just really can't moved on even from small things much like this compared to his future dad, who was very much the opposite of all except for the little recklessness that he retained.

He also concluded that his young dad would probably moved on if something was done about the situation that happened before or he would found himself pretty much stuck in the middle of this.

"So what do you proposed that I should do to make you just moved on ?" Boruto asked. He was getting a bit annoyed.

Naruto simply shrugged." Well, I don't have any idea, sorry." He said.

There was a little of quietness that took over the area. Boruto took a deep breath as he folded his arms and thought of a way to solve this. He stared at the blank space for several seconds before suddenly something came into his mind.

The blonde rookie widened his eyes as he then turned his head back towards his young dad, who was still sitting there and minding his own business." Hey Naruto!" Boruto called his name.

"Yeah what's up?" Naruto asked before meeting the serious face of the rookie.

Boruto took another deep breath before looking directly straight into his young dad's eyes and opening his mouth." Hey listen, if you wanna really get all of that hate inside your head, then I guess I have no choice but to do this." He said.

"What do you mean?" Naruto asked.

"Well, I promised myself a long time ago that I won't let myself get involved into mischevious things." Boruto explained." Although, If the situation calls for it, then why not?"

Naruto just stared wide eye at the rookie, he blinked a couple of times before opening his mouth." Y-You don't mean that we're gonna have to-" He was about finished his sentence when was stopped along the way.

Boruto simply nodded." Yes, you know what I mean." A smile formed around his lips.

"We're gonna have to execute a prank on him."

When Naruto heard the simple statement from the rookie, his eyes and ears lit up and a mischievious smile formed around his lips. How could he forget the long lost way of settling things out? He used to be so good at these kinds of things!

No matter what happens, This was going to be fun.

As for Boruto, He was just doing this for his young dad, but deep down inside he was really going to regret this. He just hoped that they won't caused any trouble on other people, especially his raven haired teammate.

* * *

 **(CHAPTER END)**

 **AN: Thank you for reading the chapter !**


	48. Arc 3 Phase 2: Public Hotspring Part 2

**I don't own Naruto. Kishimoto Does.**

 **Author's note: Hey there Readers!, Looks like we've finally entered Arc 3! I Hope you guys enjoy! I would also like to thank you guys for the Reviews. Favorites, and follows :) Thank you for also sharing your tips and thoughts for the story.**

 **Take note: Looks like I managed to finish the chapter earlier than expected.**

 **Take note 2: For the readers who doesn't like this story and kept bashing it. I really don't care what you say or what you think. You are just wasting your time here and If you don't like the story, just leave.**

 **Take note 3: This chapter is quite short.**

 **Expect some grammar and spelling mistakes**

 **Thank you for Understanding :)**

* * *

 **Arc 3: Second Phase**

 **Chapter 13: Public Hotspring Part 2**

Yamato enjoyed the silent ambience inside the room. Donning a Kimono, He sat on the wooden floor as he observed a set of documents that were placed on a small round wooden table. The documents, which consists of five files were none other than, background information regarding the Team 7's main members.

He had already read the first three files, which belonged to the main members: Naruto, Sakura, and Sai. As for the short raven haired teen, Sai was already considered a main member, even though he was just an addition or replacement, because usually teams should have a maximum number of three members.

Along the way, He picked up several interesting things from the three main members, especially Naruto, who hosted the Kyuubi No Youko inside him. When he read his background information, He was surprised to learn that this kid had been living and surviving on his own in an apartment since he was at the age of 10. According to the file, his parents passed away during the Kyuubi's attack that killed a lot of people. He was then taken to an orphanage and years later when he was old enough to take care himself, he was then given his own apartment by none other than the third himself.

"He must've gone through a lot." Yamato commented as he moved on to the next file, opened it, thus revealing Sai's background information.

Sai's past was very much mysterious, since most of the information only consists of him being a member of the root division, besides the fact that he was an orphan and grew up in an orphanage. He also noticed that the teen had no surname or whatsoever, only having his first name. He had a little bit of suspicion that the name was somehow just given him because no one really knew about him and his life.

 _"Just like me, who doesn't know his past."_ He commented yet again.

Sakura was the only member that had the normal background, other than her being an apprentice of the Fifth Hokage, she had a peaceful upbringing, studied in the academy, and so on. So far, there were no new interesting information regarding her.

As completed reading the first three files, He placed them down on the other side of the table. He then relaxed himself for a little while, grabbed his hot cup of tea, and drank it. His also began to ponder with his thoughts. He really had to admit that, it was a bit difficult to be an instructor managing five members, It was his first time that he had to used his wallet just to bring the team together in a public hotspring and resort.

He really wondered on how did Kakashi was able to handle this kind of stress?

He took a sighed and darted his eyes back to the table, He noticed that there were only two remaining files left that he had not yet read. So with a brief glanced at the wall clock, he then proceeded to read the last two files which belonged to the two teens that were assigned as observers in this mission: Bolt and Sarada.

To be honest, He really never heard the term "Observers" in his life. What are the roles of an observer in a mission? Were they gonna do nothing and be just audiences when danger comes? It was a very confusing concept, Lady Tsunade hadn't tackle and explain the position to him that much, now, he was all in his own to figured it out.

As He read and disect the information in these two files, His interest had caught up to him along the way, as he learned that these two teens had the most interesting background amongst the rest. He learned that these two teens were friends and both lived in a small village somewhere in the land of fire. Unfortunately, their village was destroyed and ransacked by raiders and bandits.

He felt a little bit saddened that they really had to go through with this, although, it was a fact that the world was not a safe place and everyone could be just a victim of this unfair world.

Getting away from the bad side, He also took note of that the blonde observer, Bolt, had striking similarities with Naruto, when he first saw him, he thought they were twins but something told him that it was all just coincidence. The last thing that he wondered about the two is that why Tsunade would assigned them on an A-S rank mission much like this? Were the two really strong enough to handle the dangers in this mission, considering that this will involved Orochimaru and Sasuke Uchiha, who were both deemed dangerous?

Although, No matter what happens, it was his responsibility in the end. He had to guide them properly in this mission.

At the same time, the door behind him slided open to reveal a staff from the resort, who was greeted by the brown haired man himself.

"I apologized for interrupting sir but I'm here to inform you that your food will be ready soon." The staff member explained.

"Oh I see, thank you informing me." Yamato smiled as the staff member just simply nodded, slided the door back and fully left the room.

Silence then took charged yet again. Yamato sighed as he placed the two remaining files on the table. He then glanced back at the clock and to learn that the time was already nearing six o' clock and that dinner time was upon them.

He also noticed that they should be here by this time and wondered on what they were taking so long.

Yamato sighed once again as he finished his tea and stood up from the wooden floor. He really can't believed that he was going to fetched the resr of them one by one.

Definitely, a very difficult task for an instructor.

* * *

 **(MEANWHILE)**

It was probably the first time that Sarada had spent time with her young mom longer than she had expected. From having a heartful conversation back in the tea house, the whole day turned into some kind of mini adventure as they explored the whole resort, especially its shopping district.

The raven haired Uchiha felt as if it was Deja vu all over again, a smile formed around her lips as she fondly remembered the times that her mom would often bring her out to the downtown district of the village just to have their shopping spree after her pay day. She described her mom as really outgoing and adventuristic person to hangout with and even in the past she was still like this.

It took them exactly a few hours before ending their shopping spree and along the way, they bought themselves a few souvenirs to take home after this mission. Now, They found themselves currently walking along a path way back towards their hotel room. They were also engaged in another conversation.

"So you also work full time in the village?" Sakura asked.

Sarada simply nodded and smiled." Yeah, I work as a clerk/cashier at a Bakery shop somewhere around downtown." She explained." The job itself is okay, it's just that I do this to earn a living and to also pay the rent."

Sakura just stared wide eye at the raven haired teen. Besides Ino, this was the first time that she heard a person doing her Shinobi duties and at the same time, working full time in a normal job.

"So what about Bolt? Does he work too?" Sakura asked.

Sarada simply nodded." Well, in fact we both have our own full time jobs to pay the bills. Bolt is currently working full time as a cook/staff at Ichiraku's Ramen shop." She explained.

"For real!?" A very surprised Sakura exclaimed. She really can't believed that the teen worked in Naruto's favorite place.

"In addition, that's how the two blondes met together." Sarada added. She learned this from the blonde knucklehead himself, who told the story during that fateful night.

"So that explains why Naruto was so suprised and shocked during the start of the previous mission." Sakura commented. It was such a small world to be honest, she was really glad to have met them.

"Speaking of the two blondes, do you really think they would get along and be bestfriends in the future?" Sarada asked this time.

Sakura gave a chuckle and shrugged." Well it depends, but I guess it would be the end of the world when these two combine forces just execute their pranks together." She explained in her point of view.

Sarada gave a smiled." I guess your right, who knows what those two are capable of." She said. It was somehow true, she had seen how her teammate was deemed dangerous when it comes to pranks. Although, she had to admit that the knucklehead's pranks were very much simple and yet creative.

It kind of came to her that the pranks that the blonde had executed over the years somehow reminded her of a horror movie that she had watched. The movie was about some little white puppet with spirals in both of its cheeks, that would often had the lines of "I want to play a game" "You've got sixty seconds." and such. Maybe it was just a coincidence?

On the other hand, Sakura just sighed. A thought came to her that the beef between Naruto and Sai had not ended yet. The tension was still burning and rising. It was only a matter of time when her blonde teammate is already planning a revenge against him.

Same goes for Sarada, who had the same thought as the pink haired teen. Both were having feelings of worrieness that somehow these two were planning something mischevious right now.

So they have no choice but to walked faster and hurry before someone gets victimized.

* * *

 **Operation: Uzumaki Vengeance**

This was indeed the name or title card of their soon to be prank against the short black haired teen. It was actually Naruto, who had the idea of naming the simple prank that was going to take place anytime soon. It was upon decided that they were going to held the prank at their own room, which was not theirs but also the rest.

The hotel room that the team had checked in was quite big enough to have its own bedrooms inside. It was like a fully furnished house, complete with a living room, two sets of bathrooms and so on. They wondered if their new sensei was this rich to afford a type of room like this.

Unknown to their knowledge, Yamato had left the room in search of them minutes before their arrival. By the time they arrived at the room, they wasted no time and immediately set up their pranking materials which they bought along the way.

It was like something out of a movie, two creative minds joining together to create the most satsifying prank that they could ever done. Naruto was in charged of setting up and bringing the idea to life while Boruto was in charged of keeping the idea simple to make sure that no innocent person would get involved except for their target.

"I had to admit, you're really good at making the prank simple." Naruto commented as they were finishing the last stages of the prank.

Boruto gave a smile and shrugged." Well, let's just say that I'm just being careful, we might not want to trash the whole room that Yamato-sensei paid for." He explained. Money is very precious nowadays.

"I guess you're right, but let me ask you this, what made you start doing pranks like this, this is like the first time I met a person who does pranks like me dattebayo?" Naruto asked while the other blonde gave a slight chuckle.

"Hey what's so funny?" He asked.

Boruto just sighed and shook his head. He then darted his eyes towards his young dad and gave him a small smile as if he was going to tell a story." Well, you won't believed this but the reason why or what made me do pranks is because of a certain person." He explained." And that person is none other than my dad."

There was a little bit of silence that took over before Naruto raised both eyebrows in surprised." You're dad? What does he got to do with all these pranks you did?" He asked.

"Well, let's just say that he was the village leader and He had no time for his family and whatsoever." Boruto simply said as he began to reminisce the good old times. He would go on to explained that he did all those pranks just to take his attention away from the toxic work of a village leader that took over him since then. He wanted his old man to focused on his family first and other important things.

Naruto just gave a sad looked." It must've been hardcore for you and Himawari, I mean if I were to have a family of my own, I would really spent time with them more often." He said. He also hoped that being a Hokage was not that toxic and stressful. He was also afraid to see himself transformed into some kind of a workaholic robot, that had no time for bonds and family if he really becomes Hokage in the future.

A small smile formed around the blonde's lips." _I hope what you said is true_." Boruto thought to himself. He had to admit that this young version of his dad was very much full of hope and promises and a very cool person to hangout with but he wondered on what really changed him as the years passed by.

So did you managed to get along with your dad?" Naruto asked.

Boruto simply nodded." Yup, It was a kind of a miracle for him to change back into the old man that we loved and know but at the same time, all of that was short-lived when our village was destroyed." He explained.

"Oh I forgot about that part, I'm sorry for what happened to your home." Naruto apologized, He was just getting to know more about the rookie, and the first thing that he hears is a tragic background story about his past.

Boruto sighed but smiled." It's alright, We've pretty much moved on from it, that's all in the past." He simply explained with a smile as he looked at the blonde straight in the eye.

Naruto gave a slight chuckle."I guess you're right, moving on is the best thing to do, but if you guys are stuck in a problem, don't worry, we'll be here to help you out!" He said. He also attempted to cheer the rookie up much to Boruto's amusement and surprised.

"Yeah, thanks Naruto." Boruto thanked the blonde.

"No problem!"

* * *

 **(AWHILE LATER)**

"I guess I should just wait for them."

That was the first thing that Yamato said after giving up as he headed back to the room. He had apparently spent the whole time searching for the rest of the team in the entirety of this resort only to fail in the end. Although, He was able to locate Sai who was near the small river, sketching up the landscape of the forest.

The spiky brown haired man was able to informed the teen to head back to the room for the team dinner after he finished on what he was doing. As for the rest of the members, He could only hoped that they were on their way back, especially, Naruto who was probably somewhere or maybe still at that hotspring.

He really did understood the whole conflict going on between the two teens, He also can relate because he already had been in a situation much like this before tracing back to his early Anbu days when he had a friendly rivalry with Kakashi. However, cooperation and peace is what he needed in this mission. He wasn't going to tolerate in such angsty feuds like this.

When everybody is finally at that dinner table, He was really going to do his best as the mediator and worked things out between them.

As he was walking along the hall way and nearing his destination, He stopped his tracks as he suddenly saw a couple of the hotel staff members, specifically from the kitchen division and banquet division standing in front of the door. Apparently, the food that he had ordered had finally arrived.

 _"Looks like they're here."_ He thought.

By the time, Yamato got there, several sentences had already formed inside his mind." I apologized for being late, I guess I owe you guys a lot of tips." He gave a slight chuckle while scratching the back of his head much to the confused and silent reaction of the staff.

This left Yamato awkwardly laughing at himself with a very much confused audience. Deciding to move on from the awkward situation just awhile ago, he then gave a grin before grabbing the door in an attempt to slide it open, however, it somehow won't cooperate and slide open.

"What?" Yamato was very confused and shocked. He deduced that the door was somehow mysteriously locked from the inside.

"Oh yes the keys!" Yamato said to himself. He sighed in relief as he checked his pocket and drew out the key to the door.

"I thought I didn't locked the door when I went outside." He said as he used the keys to finally unlocked the door and was greeted by a suspiciously empty room.

Yamato then turned to the hotel/resort staff delivering the food." Alright guys, you just wait here while I'll get my wallet." He said while giving a wink at them before stepping inside.

Unbeknownst to him, he was in for an accidental and unexpected surprised.

* * *

 **(MEANWHILE)**

It was at the same time when the two blondes heard the door being unlocked from the otherside. It pretty much startled the crap out of them, but the good thing was they were able to finish setting the prank up in time. The only problem that they had was that they were not sure if the certain person entering the room was indeed Sai.

"We gotta hide ASAP!" Boruto said and alerted his young dad, who instantly agreed with him as they hid in their respective areas where no one can find them.

The two blondes split up as they hid in opposite sides, Boruto went to the left and hid near a cabinet while Naruto went to the right and hid near the bathroom. Both of them also gazed at the clock and set up their own countdowns.

Boruto on the other hand, immediately realized that he had borrowed his teammate's smartphone, which she had unexpectedly brought from the future. So in a several nicks of time, He went to his back pack which was near his room, drew out the device, returned back to his position and set up the smartphone into camera mode. He was really gonna record this entire scene. From the otherside, Naruto was very much confused as he observed his blonde counterpart, holding some black unknown device that he was not familiar with.

After a few moments of waiting, the door finally slided opened to reveal a person that they never really expected that enter the door.

"You've got to be kidding me!" Both Boruto yelled in his thoughts shocked and disbelief were on his face as he didn't expect that it was his new sensei that entered the room contrast to Naruto, who just was just really overwhelmed by excitement and was not fully aware.

Borut decided to act quickly as possible but it was too late as Yamato had already fell into the prank. Boruto just stared wide eye while holding the smartphone as it began recording the whole prank.

* * *

Meawhile, Yamato was caught off guard as he found himself, specifically his face hitting some kind of transparent plastic, which had glue on it, that was unnoticably hanging in front of him. He was taken by surprised that he began to struggle and attempted to remove the sticky plastic on his face, while he was trying to removed it, he suddenly stepped on some kind of wooden board with wheels on it, which turned out to be part of the prank.

Yamato slided off with the wooden skateboard a few small distances before finally losing balance and slipping and crashing on the wooden floor thus entering the last stage of the prank which involves a bucket of ice cold water, attached to the ceiling fan from above, which turned and pour the ice cold liquid on him.

As the prank had come to an end, there was silence that took over as the hotel staff were very much confused and shocked what has happened and just stared at the scene. It was also at the same time when Naruto came out from his hiding spot and began to celebrate.

"Looks like we got him Bolt!" Naruto exclaimed in triumph, while the other slowly stood up.

Boruto gave a face of worry as he tried to alert his young dad about the situation but it was too late.

As for Naruto, He gave a smirked and began to taunt the person , who he thought was Sai, laying on the floor." How'd you feel now Sai? Who's the wimp now? Dattebayo!" He really felt satisfied right now, it was like sweet revenge, although the celebration was short lived.

Reality would soon come knocking on his doorstep as he heard a familiar voice coming from the door.

 **"I guess you still are a wimp Naruto."**

Naruto widened his eyes in surprised as he then turned around to face the real Sai standing on the entrance and giving him a smile." Sai!? What the Heck!?"

'Then if your standing there, then that means..." Naruto trailed off along the way as he then looked back at the person laying on the floor and was apparently the victim of the prank.

"Oh shoot." He muttered to himself as he then glanced back at Boruto.

They really screwed up right now.

At the same time, Sakura and Sarada had arrived at the scene and were pretty much greeted by shocked right now. They were looking at their sensei, who had just become the victim of a harmless prank.

There was another round of quietness that took over, It was at this time that Yamato was able to finally remove the plastic on his face as he desperately gasped for breath.

"What " _Gasp_ " The heck " _Gasp_ " Just" _Gasp_ " Happened!?" Yamato said while gasping for his breath.

This whole scene was all recorded by the smartphone that Boruto was holding right at the moment. Both of his hands were visibly shaking and he was just speechless as the rest of everybody right now. Although, He did managed to utter several words which formed into one complete sentence.

"We are in serious trouble."

* * *

 **CHAPTER END**

 **AN: Thank you for reading the chapter**!


	49. Arc 3 Phase 2: Public Hotspring Part 3

**I don't own Naruto. Kishimoto Does.**

 **Author's note: Hey there Readers!, Looks like we've finally entered Arc 3! I Hope you guys enjoy! I would also like to thank you guys for the Reviews. Favorites, and follows :) Thank you for also sharing your tips and thoughts for the story.**

 **Take note: This should be one of the final filler chapter before things get serious for awhile.**

 **Take note 2: For the readers who doesn't like this story and kept bashing it. I really don't care what you say or what you think. You are just wasting your time here and If you don't like the story, just leave.**

 **Take note 3: This chapter is quite short.**

 **Expect some grammar and spelling mistakes along the way.**

 **Thank you for Understanding :)**

* * *

 **Arc 3 Second Phase:**

 **Chapter 15: Public Hotspring Part 3**

Awkwardness was the only word that could fit to describe the current situation right now, especially for Boruto, who was just sitting still in his spot and moving only his eyes around his surroundings. Questions were already beginning to form inside his head as he wondered on why everyone was so quiet and hadn't grabbed any of the chopsticks placed on the table.

Dinner was already on the table and the rest of them weren't doing anything but just staring at their food or maybe in the blank space.

Boruto slowly moved his head and darted his eyes around the rest, He observed the main members of Team 7, who were strangely just quiet and staring at the blank space, He first observed his young dad, who was obviously nervous because of what happened just now, he also noticed Sai who's eyes was just staring at one direction.

The weirdest thing that he noticed was Yamato himself, who was somewhat like a statue and just stared at the blank space of air. It was like he was in a trance or something, muttering words that he really didn't understand. Are the rumours really true on what many said about him?

That he was really a weird person.

Sarada was also not faraway from the her blonde teammate's thoughts. She too wondered on what was really going on right now, she looked at her young mom who was just hungry as her and waiting for the rest to start eating their dinner, although the team's newest sensei was just so into his prayers.

As for Boruto, He successfully made an eye contact to his raven haired teammate. He had this very wide confused his eyes that directly asked her on what's the deal with their brown haired sensei right now. Sarada responded with a few hand gestures and body languages which suggests that their sensei is somewhat silently praying in a weird way to gave thanks for the food.

"Is this really in the script?" Boruto aaked and whispered.

"Beats me, I'm really not sure." Sarada simply replied and shrugged at the same time.

Both were wondering if this scene really happened in the past or maybe because that they were here and the prank, a few changes had already been made.

"You know Yamato-sensei is really starting to creep me out." Boruto whispered yet again.

Sarada just sighed and gave her teammate a nod." I know, no wonder why Granny Tsunade describe him as a weird guy." She replied and whispered back.

"Oh." Boruto gave a surprised expression and just nodded.

It was also this time that the silence was finally broken when Yamato finished his silent long prayer for the dinner. He gave a wide smile as he grabbed his chopsticks and prepared himself to eat the food.

" Let's dig In fellas!" He happily exclaimed as startes eating.

There was quietness among the rest as they gave glances at each other, but eventually they all shrugged and started eating their dinner as well. Before digging their food, Boruto and Sarada gave another glance at each other as they just gave a quiet chuckle and shook their heads about it.

* * *

Dinner continued on being normal after that strange scene. The lighter atmosphere had took over as laughter and joy had entered room and continued to thrive. It was seemed that everyone had just moved on after the pranking incident, although when Naruto managed to summoned some balls to speak up about the incident.

"I'm really sorry for what happened just now Yamato-sensei, It was my idea to have that kind of prank, I didn't really mean to harm someone." Naruto apologized with all his heart. It was just a misunderstanding but at the same time, embarrassing.

"Yes, a harmless prank indeed." Sai fired some of his sarcastic words which nearly made the Uzumaki twitched in frustration but was able to calm himself down.

As for the team's brown haired instructor, He just sighed and decided to get directly straight to the point." Listen fellas, I really don't care much about what happened awhile ago." He said which caused the rest give their surprise reactions.

"Looks as a team, we really need to work together and the first step is to create friendship and forget the bad side of things." Yamato explained.

Naruto widened his eyes in surprised." So that means, you have no hard feelings about the accidental prank Yamato-sensei?" He asked, hoping to get both forgiveness and acceptance.

Yamato simply nodded and smiled." Of course! like I said, always forget the bad side of things and enjoy dinner!" He said as he took a big bite of his sushi.

Most of everyone was pretty much surprised on what the brown haired man had just said. A wide smile formed around Naruto's lips as he formed a fist on his right hand." Yeah!" He happily exclaimed." You're the best sensei!"

Sakura just sighed at her teammate's loudness, but although she was surprised that their sensei really forgave him that fast. She was a bit amazed on how cool-headed the man was.

Dinner continued on with a blast, most of the conversations were either jokes and praises coming from Naruto and Sakura themselves, they expressed their gratitude and thankfulness that all of these things were just to improved the team's overall chemistry. Although, at some points in time, they would really go over the line.

"Yamato-sensei I guess we really should stay here for a little longer, the food here is mind-blowing dattebayo!" Naruto expressed his joy over the delicious food.

"Since, Yamato-sensei is paying for everything, Let's order some more!" Sakura happily added, although her intention was just for gags only.

Yamato secretly was taken by surprised when he had heard their statements. There was a slight panic that began to rocked his heart out. To be honest, it was really a pain in both of his pockets and critical wound to the wallet when he paid all for just wasn't sure if he could deal more blows to himself and his savings.

"Alright, let's not get carried away, remember, everything has its limits." He explained while slightly raising up his hands in the air.

This also caused laughter amongst the rest, especially for now Naruto and Sakura, who was just really enjoying the time. They were beginning to think that their brown haired sensei was not that bad after all.

"Alright then! I nonimate Yamato-sensei, to lead this team for eternity!" Naruto said as raised his hand as a symbol of his vote.

"You're right! I seconded it!" Sakura followed the blonde's cheers and raised her chopsticks to vote and nominate the brown haired man.

Yamato just shook his head but gave a smile." You guys are too much." He commented while giving a chuckle.

It was quite a very happy ending for the night, as for the two time travellers, Boruto and Sarada just decided to stay on the sidelines and listen to the conversations. Much has happened in just one day. They were just really going with the flow on this one before something unexpected happens yet again.

As Sarada enjoyed the food, she also took occasional glances at her blonde teammate, who was just at the other side of the table, just to check if he was doing alright and so far he was. Although, there was something different that he noticed about the knucklehead, he seemed bothered about something and she doesn't have any clue on what it is.

She was just concerned about him.

It was at the same moment when Boruto's cerulean eyes suddenly turned and darted directly towards her and Sarada automatically looked away as there was a slight hint of red began appearing on her cheeks.

She really shouldn't have done that.

* * *

 **(LATER ON)**

Night time was probably the time when Boruto would often go outside and take his occasional strolls. In any place that he has been to, he would always take this strolls to enjoy the fresh air, peacefulness and to review his thoughts that he had collected throughout the day.

Since he was in a hotspring resort, the only quiet place that he can find was this open space with a narrow pathway which led to the small river near the resort. The area also had a lone tree which stood near the river and this is where the blonde time traveller sat down.

Currently, He found himself holding the smartphone that he had borrowed from his raven haired teammate and repeatedly watched video which contained the whole prank scene that he'd recorded not too long ago.

It was just like a scene from a movie, everyone suddenly arriving just to see their new sensei being a victim of a harmless prank thus causing a very awkward situation to happen. How he hated being in an awkward situation much like that. Maybe this was the reason why he didn't prank anymore, it always backfired as a result.

"I guess I shouldn't have done it."

Boruto said as he took a deep breath. He then turned his eyes away from the screen, and placed the phone down on the ground. He then rested his head on the tree, which gave a good view of the moon and from then on, he gazed at the night sky.

"This is more better than watching TV."

He thought to himself as a smile formed around lips. He had to admit that gazing at the night sky along with the moon and stars is much better way of catching a good sleep rather than staring at a glass screen all day. A memory managed to snuck into his mind and he was taken back to the good old days. He remembered his old portable video game that he would always play everytime he had the time.

It was all those competitive long hours of multiplayer with Inojin, Denki and Shikadai. They were really like brothers when it comes to these kinds of stuff, they even took part in a tournament involving this games and won the championship.

The only time the he couldn't play was during the night, but he dared anyway and was often being caught by his mom, who really didn't understood the whole process of gaming or being a gamer. Speaking of her mom, she was the greatest person that ever was.

Boruto gave yet another smile and chuckled. There was some growing hope inside him that maybe some of his friends had survived the attacked. He mean't that if they really survived then that means they would also be caught by that explosion and were probably in the past right now.

It was a really good theory, although there were hardly enough evidence so far that some of them had survived. Maybe things were just destined to be like this, his home being erased from the face of the earth along with his friends and family. Fate probably had the final call all this time around.

If things were probably destined to be doom, then why did they were spared? Why did they survived and lived? Is there something more that fate had stored in for them?

Boruto shook his head just to erased his thoughts. He had enough of this thoughts for the day. He had a goal, and that is to just relax and lay low. Although, something was missing that he really can't figured out right now.

Whatever that is, he'll probably figured it out when he shut his eyes because he was really feeling drowsy right at the moment.

* * *

 **"Enjoying the scenery without me huh?"**

A very recognizable voice suddenly said and asked which broke the peacefulness.

A startled Boruto immediately opened his eyes as he suddenly met face to face with a familiar raven haired girl looking down at him." Sarada-chan?" He muttered aloud. He was now questioning the fabrics of existence as to how did the girl actually located him?

Sarada gave a warm smile." No Boruto, you're just seeing things hehe." She jokingly said and gave a chuckle.

Sensing that this was indeed his raven haired teammate and realizing that this was not a dream, the blonde gave a sighed but smiled." I guess I'm not dreaming, but I've got to admit you're jokes are improving." He commented as he adjusted himself.

"Says the blonde, who had been turned into somewhat like my Papa and rarely makes jokes now." Sarada replied back as she sat down beside her blonde teammate.

"Hey there, I'm not turning into Uncle Sasuke dattebassa!" Boruto said while scratching the back of his head He was himself and not a clone of anyone.

Sarada just sighed and rested her head on the blonde's teammate shoulder which made him a bit surprised but eventually accepted the fact that he had become a human pillow for a while.

"Boy, I'm really tired." Sarada said as she gave a little yawn. She really enjoyed having the blonde as a pillow.

"You mean that you're just feeling sleepy and don't really want to show the guys that you're sleepy." Boruto said. It was often easier to get through her excuses.

Sarada gave a chuckle." Alright, you won. So what if I'm feeling sleepy? You're the one that told me that girls should get a good enough sleep." She replied.

Boruto sighed but gave a smile." Yeah I know, I hardly had enough sleep for the past several days, I never really knew that we would be assigned to another mission again." He tiredly said.

"At least, we get to know spent time with our young parents and get to know them more." Sarada said. She was looking on the bright side.

"Yeah, I guess you're right, so what do you think about Aunt Sakura lately?" He asked.

Sarada gave a moment silence as she took a deep breath." Well, actually young Mama is really a nice person to hangout with!" She said." I never really thought that one day I would hangout with her not as a mom but as a friend."

Boruto widened his eyes in surprised." You think so? I thought, Aunt Sakura probably spends more time doing chores." He said.

"She apparently does her chores, but from what I see, Mama really love to socialize when she is not doing anything." Sarada explained." Since Papa is in his travels all the time."

"Oh I see, looks like you've got an outgoing mom Sarada-chan." Boruto commented. He also began to compare the level of scariness between his mom and the Uchiha girl's mom and. so far everything between them is equal but he would say that his teammate was the lucky one to have a mother like her.

"So what about Lord Seventh? I-I mean your dad by the way? What was it like spending time with him?" Sarada was the one to asked the question this time.

There was a little quietness that took over, Boruto took the time to recapped the whole day, and when he was done, he took a deep a breath and let off his words." Well, if you were in my position, I would really expect to be sent to detention early but I would remain happy because, it's a very rare thing to see me doing pranks with the Hokage." He explained.

"And please you can just call him Dad or whatever, Lord seventh is too much-ttebasa." He added.

Sarada smiled." That would be really fun, I guess." She said. She understood her teammate's relationship with his dad. It really must've been hard to have a father, who works all day and had barely time for his family.

"I'm just glad that he realized that spending time with his family can benefit his health and well being as well, since he became Hokage, a lot of things changed." Boruto said." But, I'm glad that things changed for the better."

Sarada just gave smile." Don't worry, when I become Hokage, I will established a program that promotes the importance of family" She explained." Maybe that will help the future generation of parents."

Boruto sighed but smiled." Thanks for the help Sarada-chan, that dream of being Hokage is still alive inside you, and I will probably be your protector or some sort." He said.

Sarada gave a little chuckle "Maybe more like a Saviour I guess, I have a feeling that you will be the one to save our future and our home." She added.

"Just a feeling, I'm still not sure on how things will work out now that we are in the past." Boruto explained." I mean, we all these things happening, I think there's going to be a lot of saving to do dattebassa."

Sarada just smiled." I know that, but you gotta remember what Papa would always tell you." She said as she tried to remind the blonde of a certain person's words of wisdom.

"If you put your mind to it and not worry, you could accomplish anything."

Boruto gave a slight chuckle. Who could forget those words of wisdom by his mentor? " I guess you're right Sarada-chan, I maybe a little too much on things lately and-" He was about to continue his sentence when he was suddenly cut by the raven haired girl.

Like a little girl who wants to hug something, Sarada just fully rested as she unexpectedly enveloped her teammate in a hug." Thank you Boro." She muttered, her eyes slowly shutting down as her consciousness was slowly fading away.

Boruto just stared and observed her for a few seconds before snapping back to reality." You know, this is a job of a human pillow but whatever." He gave a sigh and commented. His teammate was now sleeping soundly on his shoulders.

* * *

There was quietness that took over the area, Boruto began swimming through his thoughts as he wondered on how was he gonna carry a girl like Sarada? She was heavier than a sack of rice despite her appearance." Here we go again." He muttered to himself.

Boruto then took one more gazed at the night sky and the moon that was now coming to its peak. He grabbed the smart phone on the ground, checked the time to see that an hour and half had already past.

"Looks like I'm already past bed time." He said as he then place the smart phone back into his pocket, adjusted himself to carry the sleeping Uchiha and stood up.

"Man, she's really heavy-ttebassa!" Boruto commented as he cringed. He felt both of his hands and legs were shaking because of the load but he managed to regain his balance after a few seconds.

And so the carrying began.

"I just hope Uncle Sasuke is not angry with me for carrying his daughter in a bridal style." Boruto thought to himself. his Uncle Sasuke was indeed an overprotective father, he was also a monster when it comes to dealing with guys who would try to make their advances on Sarada.

He sighed and shook his head. He really needed a good night rest tonight. But as for now, He was just going to deal on carrying his heavy teammate back towards the hotel.

What a good way to end the night.

* * *

 **(CHAPTER END)**

 **AN: Thank you for reading the chapter!**


	50. Arc 3 Phase 2: Prelude to Tenchi Bridge

**I don't own Naruto. Kishimoto Does.**

 **Author's note: Hey there Readers!, Looks like we've finally entered Arc 3! I Hope you guys enjoy! I would also like to thank you guys for the Reviews. Favorites, and follows :) Thank you for also sharing your tips and thoughts for the story.**

 **Take note: Sorry for the long wait, I took a break from writing to focus on school and studies, plus going on a continous writing which stretched up to 50 chapters, really makes you feel burnout and for several days, not a single idea came into my head. Although, thanks to some brainstorming, here's a new chapter.**

 **Expect some grammar and spelling mistakes along the way.**

 **Thank you for Understanding :)**

* * *

 **Arc 3 Phase 2:**

 **Chapter 16: Prelude to Tenchi Bridge**

Sarada groaned as her consciousness slowly came back from her long slumber. The first thing that greeted her were the rays of the sun that penetrated through the window of her room. It was kind of a natural alarm clock her for as she often tend to sleep by facing the window.

The raven haired Uchiha cringed as she immediately turned away from the brightness that greeted her. It took a a few moments for her vision to recover and the next thing she knew was that she found herself staring at the familiar ceiling of her hotel room.

"What?" Sarada thought as she slowly rose up from her bed. Her memory was somehow blank at the moment. She moved her eyes around the room and slowly began to realized that she was back in her room.

"How did I get here?" She muttered. She had no idea on what happened or transpired before all of this. It was really strange for her.

As she continued to moved her eyes and observed her surroundings, she immediately stopped right on a specific area of the room where a neatly folded sleeping bed and a familiar backpack were located.

Sarada blinked a couple of times as her brain began to process thus slowly bringing back some of the memories from yesterday." Boruto?" She muttered and mentioned her blonde teammate's name while grabbing her glasses and putting them on.

It was somehow puzzle game. She really attempted remember everything that happened but was unable to, until a certain backpack instantly activated her brain cells and in one swoop, the memories showered her mind like waterfalls.

She finally remembered on what happened yesterday. After dinner with the rest of the team, her teammate went outside to take his usual stroll and to enjoy the fresh air and she decided to follow him. She ended up locating him on a a nearby small river, resting under a lone tree and the rest was history.

What Sarada wondered was on how did she managed to get back into her room until she finally realized the most possible and only answer to her question which was that her own teammate carried her throughout that night. She widened her eyes in surprised and realization.

At the same time while having those thoughts, the door to her room suddenly slided open to reveal a certain blonde teen, who was the one the responsible for bringing her back the room.

"Morning Sarada-chan!" Boruto greeted with a smile." I never thought you would wake up this early!"

Sarada blinked a couple of times before opening her mouth." Boruto? What happened?" She asked.

Boruto gave a sighed." Well, I'm not really sure where to start but I guess during our conversation last night, you suddenly fell asleep right on my shoulder." He explained.

"Then that means?"

Boruto simply nodded." Yeah, I carried you all the way here." He said as he placed both his hands on his pockets.

"Oh." Sarada muttered under breath. She was starting to feel a little bit awkward about the situation right now. Not a single thing was coming to her mind right now thus leaving her loss for words except that she wondered if anyone saw her unconscious and being carried by her teammate during that night.

As for Boruto, he just sighed but gave a smile." Hey listen by the way, since you're awake now, maybe we can go outside and have breakfast, My stomach is killing me right now." He said while giving a slight chuckle.

There was a little bit of quietness that took over for a few moments. Sarada blinked a couple of times as her brain absorbed the information that her teammate had given to her just now. When she finally snapped back to reality, another question popped into her mind.

"So is it gonna be your treat?" Sarada asked, giving her hopeful and puppy eyes.

Boruto gave a sighed and nodded." Yeah, it's my treat, so hurry up and get dressed or else." He said.

"Or else what?" Sarada asked. She was a bit confused on this one. She wondered why the knucklehead was impatient and eager to go outside when they still have a lot of time.

It was another question that caused the blonde to scratched the back of his head with a little annoyance. He knew that he was in a race against time and he had little time left. He was glad that his teammate woke up this early but it wasn't time for slow poking. So he got straight to the point.

"Or else those buns would be gone in a matter of minutes."

* * *

 **(LATER ON)**

Sarada wasn't really exactly sure on whether she should've just gave up awhile ago or continue the fight as she found herself almost being squeezed like a pancake by the masses of customers, who were insanely and currently flooding a bakery shop which sold Yakisoba Buns that her teammate was craving all this time.

Sarada was tasked to find seats for themselves while the other went on to buy the buns in the midst of the little chaos.

It was like a stuff of nightmare as if she was thrown in some kind of zombie horror movie where she found herself beginning to get overwhelmed and buried under the sea of customers. She tried to fight her way through but, it was too much as she was suddenly tripped by a random foot and was now on her way to the ground.

However, it was not until something unexpected happened. Sarada had already cringed and closed her eyes for a moment to braced for impact, only to be caught by an unsuspecting hand which belonged to the crowd.

"Careful there Miss." A male voice was then heard at the same time the Uchiha girl was save from falling.

Sarada immediately regained her balance and stood up straight. Her first thought was to thank the person that helped and caught her." Thank you so much for helping me." She then said while turning to the good person that helped her.

By the time, she looked up, she finally met face to face with a young man that she'd never seen or met before. He appeared to be older than her, specifically in his late teens to early twenties. He had medium dark brown shaggy hair, dark bluish eyes, and a kind smile. He donned a simple thin brown sleeveless V-neck shirt, gray pants and a pair of black sandals.

"Don't mention it." The young man smiled and said." What brings you here in this chaotic mess by the way?" He asked.

Sarada was quick to shook her head and raised her hands mid air." Uhmm, No, I was just finding a seat for me and my friend." She explained as pointed to her teammate who was somewhere around the crowd of customers. She was quick to deny that she herself was gonna buy the Yakisoba buns, which was on a promo today.

The young man raised both of his eyebrows and nodded." Oh I see, I hope you guys enjoy your meal then." He said." I should be going now." He added.

Sarada gave a surprised looked." You're leaving so soon?" She asked.

The young man sighed and simply nodded." Yeah, I really do." He said as he beckoned the raven haired teen to looked at his hand, which holding a plastic bag which contained a number of Yakisoba buns, that he slightly raised to get her attention.

"I'm just a humble traveller buying breakfast for his other fellow travellers." He added and gave a small grin." And I have to admit that it's a big world out there."

Sarada slightly chuckled." I guess It's a big world but I think you should hurry up or they'll be really hungry." She replied while the young man just simply nodded and smiled as he prepared to leave the area.

Although, The raven haired teen had one thing left to say." I'm Sarada by the way, what's your name?" She asked.

The young man stopped his tracks, giving a small smile from behind, he then sighed." You can call me Tensai." He said before fully disappearing from the scene.

From Sarada's point of view, she just stared at the brown haired young man, now known as " Tensai". There was something eerily mysterious about that person which to which she noticed and can't figured it out. She was left pondering with another mystery yet again.

"Sarada-chan!" A familiar voice was then heard calling her name.

Sarada then turned to face Boruto, who had finally gotten out from the crowd as he was able to finally buy his Yakisoba Buns and along with two drinks." Oh you're done buying already?" She asked.

A slightly tired Boruto simply nodded." Yup, I'm sorry it took a little while but I think we should go to the small park nearby the river and eat breakfast on the way there." He explained as he presented the plastic bag which contained a box that has a set of Yakisoba buns inside.

"It might be a better place than this noisy mess." He added as he was referring to the noisy crowd of customers that were still flooding the area.

Sarada didn't say anything, she just gave the blonde a nod and a blanked look which made the other teen confused.

"Uhmm, is something wrong? Are you alright?" Boruto asked. He noticed that his teammate was bothered by something.

Sarada immediately snapped back to reality. She shook her head and gave the blonde a smile." No, I'm fine!" She simply replied. It's a very long story by the way, so I might tell you along the way." She added.

"Oh, okay." Boruto said. He was really confused. What really happened just now? and How could it be such a long story?

* * *

 **(MEANWHILE)**

Sai took a deep breath as he enjoyed the fresh air around him. He sat down on a cemented ground nearby the small river. It was also the exact same location where a certain blonde rookie used his time to enjoy the peace last night.

The young man from the Root division observed his surroundings for a little while. After a few moments He grabbed his bag, zipped it open, drew out a sketchpad and a pencil. It was an obligation for him to be inspired and that's why he was going to sketch out the forest and the small river in front of him.

He really enjoyed the silence that was with him right at the moment. He considered it as his only friend for years. He was not like the rest of everybody, He grew up as an orphan in a small orphanage with no goal in life. Although, He had this interest and talent in drawing which continued to grow until he was recruited, and with this newfound skill, a dream started to form.

A dream that would eventually fade away.

Sai did dropped his thoughts and continued on his sketching, He had just started and was now drawing the layout for the forest. He paid more attention to every detail, even including the small birds that were occupying the branches. He really had passion for this doing, so that he would even prefer himself to be alone rather than socialize.

Not too long, his thoughts began to flood his mind yet again. He thought about being a member of this team and the rest of its members. In fact, He was just assigned here to go as an undercover for the real mission that he had that was deemed extremely classified and he had to make sure that not a single one of them would noticed.

He never really cared about the main members of this team. To him, they were just hindrances to his goal, especially the Naruto person which he find very weird and annoying. He had no reaction except for the fact that he knew only how to smile or fake a smile. He was the master of that technique. He did gave a few of his cents to the two rookies who were assigned as observers in this mission, His only thoughts about them that they were just innocent and confused fellows who just throwned in the middle of this mayhem. Although, there was something about them that he can't figured out.

With another attempt, Sai dropped his thoughts once again and continued on. His goal was to achieve a sense of quietness and he wasn't going to be bothered yet again.

However, in a few moments time, it would return yet again with a final message. A strong gush of wind suddenly blew passed by the black haired teen which in turn removed the pencil from his hand and went right straight into his open back pack.

Sai had no idea on how to swear but he did narrowed his eyes in annoyance as he then turned to get his pencil back. By the time, he was rumbling the insides of his backpack, something caught his attention as he darted his eyes to a certain book placed neatly inside his back pack.

Without hesitation and wonder, He grabbed and drew out the certain book, which was revealed to be an old but well maintained picture book. For a few moments, Sai observed the picture, he just stared at before deciding to open it through the hundreds of pages, sketches, and drawings that he was responsible of.

Along the way, his memories started to flash in front of his eyes as he flipped every page of the picture book, and it reached to point where he found himself looking at a certain drawing of him and a certain white haired person that he considered as a brother.

The memories were too much and had overwhelmed as he immediately closed the picture book. He was mentally exhausted by just taking a look at the pages and he didn't want anything from his past to return to him. As he was about to put back the book inside his back pack, a familiar female voice then called him.

"Hey Sai!" The female voice greeted.

Sai immediately recognized the voice as Sakura's and he turned around to see the pink haired girl standing in front of him. He then made a surprised look, as he did not expect that the girl would be here. He felt a bit shocked as he was thrown into a situation that he was not used to. Awkwardness also started to grow inside of him.

He didn't knew what word to say or to reply, and because of the overall social pressure, instinct took over and he opened his mouth to say:

"Who are you again?"

* * *

"I gotta say this is one of the best things that I've ever ate Dattebasa!"

A very much hungry Boruto commented. He wasn't devouring his Yakisoba buns but enjoying every moment as he took multiple bites. It was like a piece of heaven that fell right straight towards his hands. He was surprised that this kind of bun existed in this time and besides the burger, this was his second favorite.

Sarada, who was also normally eating her bun, could only rolled her eyes as her blonde teammate continued to make lovestruck expressions of his favorite food. She wasn't sure whether to conclude if he was just overreacting or playing jokes right at the moment.

In fact, there was this limit on how long she would take things. If these things became too immature already then that how she will take things into her own hands. Right now, she was on the verge of exploding and after a few moments:

"Would you please stop doing that! It's quite embarassing, you're making me looked like that I'm babysitting you!" Sarada slightly exclaimed. In fact, it was her voice that caught the attention of the people walking along the pathway which led to the small park and river.

Boruto gave his trademark Uzumaki grin."Why not? plus you looked more like a librarian to me." He commented, while the other narrowed her eyes directly at him.

"Well, a cool arse librarian to be exact hehe." He added.

Sarada could only sighed back. In fact, she did try to apply for a job back at the Konoha Public library as a Librarian but since she doesn't have the enough credentials, she put that aside for awhile and to be honest, A librarian that kicks bad guy arse sounded good.

The conversation between the two continued as the knucklehead continued to bring more of his jokes to the tables while the Uchiha girl tried hard not to cracked at the jokes that he was giving to her. It was just impossible to laugh at her teammate's jokes.

On the other hand, Boruto enjoyed lighting up the mood, He really loved to make people happy and even in the darkest times, he would often try to find the lighter side of things. Although, he also had so many questions in mind, specifically about the other things that they're going to encounter in this mission.

"By the way Sarada-chan, Have you ever thought of what granny Miyuki told us? About the after life and stuff?" He asked.

Sarada raised both of her eyebrows in surprised." Yeah, what about it?" She said.

"Do you actually believed all that?" He asked.

Sarada paused for a little moment." Well, at first I was skeptical but something told me that she was really telling the truth if you know what I mean." She said." Do you believed her though?

Boruto simply nodded." Of course, I believed her, It's just that I noticed she was giving all the important details that we needed to know and she has yet to the truth behind those mysterious white cloaked people." He explained.

Sarada raised both her eyebrows." Oh, she never got the chance to tell it?" She asked while Boruto simply shook his head.

"What about the book from the library that you photocopied?" She asked." Does it contain information about those people that you're talking about?"

For a few moments, the blonde stared at the blank space, He scratched his chin while wondering if the book really told him the information that he needed until he remembered some of the important details and some useless details.

"Actually, It did contained information but the problem is that I sorta forgot to bring it along for the mission." He explained while scratching his head and grinning nervously.

Sarada could only sighed, of course her teammate was sometimes forgetful of his own things, she kind of already expected that to happen, and it really did it." So what do you plan on doing now?" She asked.

Boruto scratched his head yet again." Well, I have no choice but to go to Plan B." He said.

"Plan B?" Sarada asked.

Boruto gave a smirked." Yup, and it's quite simple to be honest." He explained." All we have to do is to wait as things will be unfolded right in front of our eyes."

"So that's your Plan B?" A skeptical Sarada raised an eyebrow.

Boruto simply nodded." Of course! I mean, Hima was right all along, If you really want an adventure, you gotta add the suspense and thriller in it!" He explained. He mean't that for an adventure to be awesome, it needed the mystery in it, which will make the person even more hooked into it.

Sarada continued to stare at the blonde for a considerable amount of time. She realized that the knucklehead would always get excited whenever an idea would popped inside his head.

"Well, suit yourself but I still prefer to have basic knowledge on a situation." She said while giving a small smile.

Boruto gave a little sighed." Oh come on Sarada-chan, It you give yourself to the spoilers then things wouldn't be interesting."He said.

The two finally reached their destination as they stopped their tracks. Boruto still continued to explain his side of the story. He mean't about the spoilers which were really a bummer.

"For example, Everyone doesn't know a lot about Yamato-sensei, but what if I tell you that He has a secret." He continued.

Sarada raised an eyebrow." What secret?" She asked.

"Remember, this is just an example, but what if I told you that He is some kind of creepy stalker that often hides behind trees and watches random people." Boruto explained as he pointed to the lone tree of the park where coincidentally a certain brown haired man was standing and watching someone from a distance.

"You've got to be kidding me dattebasa." Boruto muttered under his breath as he laid his eyes on the team's brown haired instructor who was watching three persons nearby by the river, who were revealed to be none other than Naruto, Sakura and Sai.

"What do you think is he doing?" Sarada asked her teammate.

Boruto simply shrugged." Beats me, maybe he really is a secret stalker." He commented. He wasn't sure about it.

"That's kind of creepy but let's just find out." Sarada said as they went to the lone tree to investigate further.

* * *

 **(MEANWHILE)**

Donning his green jonin attire, Yamato stood behind the tree as he continued to watched the three teens from a few distances. He was pretty much aware that this was kind of a weird thing to do but he had no choice. He had to make sure that the three main members were getting along.

Accompanied by his trusty small telescope, He observed them as they seemed to be having a conversation right now. He hoped they were all getting along, He'd worked hard so far just to improved the team chemistry in this mission.

"Looks like my hard work pays off." He muttered and gave a smile. Although, Unbeknownst to him, two certain rookies were already watching him from behind.

"Uhmm, Yamato-sensei? What are you doing?" A familiar voice called his name and asked.

Yamato widened his eyes as he found himself being startled by a sudden voice. He immediately turned around to face Boruto and Sarada, who were just staring at him with very confused and weirded out expression.

"Crap! How do I explain this?" He thought. He really didn't expected this to happen and get discovered. Although, He just stood up straight and acted his usual self.

"Boruto...! Sarada ! I didn't knew you kids would be here." He said." Did you guys have your breakfast already?" He asked.

"Yeah, just awhile ago sensei." Boruto said." Uhmmm, are you trying to stalk those three right at the moment?" He asked as he was referring to the three main members, who were at the viewing deck of the river.

"Boruto!" Sarada raised both her eyebrows as she slightly exclaimed. She then gave the blonde a stern look." Is "Stalk" really the right the word to use?" She said.

"I'm not really sure Sarada-chan, you're good at words, maybe you can looked it up in the dictionary for me-ttebasa." Boruto attempted to reasoned out with the girl.

"Okay, you two please stop arguing." Yamato spoke this time. He had enough of the arguing." Yes, I'm trying to spy on the three right now not as a stalker but as an instructor that has great concern for their overall chemistry." He explained.

Boruto and Sarada gave glances at each other before staring back at the brown haired man with a confused looked.

"Uhmm, I guess you're doing a great but weird job?" Boruto said.

"Are there any ways that you could do besides just watching them? Maybe like try to talk and get to know them more?" Sarada added with a suggestion that really put the nail in the coffin.

Yamato sighed in defeat." Alright fine, To be honest, I'm not that good of a communicator or team leader or whatever you call it." He explained." But, I really cared for this position since Lady Tsunade assigned as instructor."

"I just want to make my first stint as instructor to be memorable." He added.

There was a few moments of silence that took over until Boruto and Sarada gave a series of chuckles which confused Yamato even more.

"Come on, Yamato-sensei you don't have to be like that because it's not you. If you really considered it to be your fear or weakness, then why not try conquering it." Boruto explained." I mean if Sai is socially weak, then I doubt that He would give up that easily."

"You really think I can do it?" Yamato asked.

Boruto simply nodded." Of course you can sensei! You can be like a real leader if want to be dattebasa!" He cheered.

Yamato felt encouraged as he felt this burning passion growing inside of him. It was like bringing the youth in him to served as his motivation. He then took a deep breath and smiled.

"I guess you're right, I can be the instructor that I wanted to be." Yamato said as he gazed at the sky while raising a fist mid air.

Sarada just stared at her teammate who's arms was folded around his chest and with a proud look. She sighed and gave the blonde a little shove at his shoulder.

"What was that all about?" Sarada asked.

Boruto gave a grin." It's what I call the Talk No Jutsu." He said.

"Talk No Jutsu?" Sarada said as she raised an eyebrow in confusion.

"Yup, it's like a hidden talent that everyone is not aware of." He explained." It can literally really turn a bad person into a good person."

Sarada stared at the blank space for a moments, wondering if this Talk No Jutsu is really for real and she immediately realized that she had actually used this hidden talent on the former Akatsuki member, Sasori.

"Oh, now I understand." Sarada muttered.

"No wonder why the guy returned back to his own village." Boruto added as he yawned and stretched his arms freely in the air.

"Interesting." Sarada said as she nodded to herself. She had to admit that this was quite interesting to sat the least. Still, there was a question that came into her mind.

Could this "Talk no Jutsu" save the world?

* * *

 **(MEANWHILE)**

"So tell me about your drawing, What is it all about by the way?"

Questions much like this were the things that Sai had been hearing for awhile now. Since the pink haired teen arrrived, he was hearing nothing but a barrage of questions or sometimes comments about his current sketch from the girl.

As time passed by, the forest and river that he was supposed to replicate on his sketch pad had took itself into a different direction and become somewhat of a strange abstract-like drawing accompanined by orange spirals that plague the sky. It was because of the social pressure that the deep recesses of his instinct took over his hand and continued on the drawing while he himself tried to converse with Sakura.

The only thing that He can do right now is smile and give short awkward replies.

As for Sakura, She only did her best to befriend the teen. In fact, she was also currently studying Psychology and emotions. So far she was beginning to believe that Sai could be an Introvert or just socially weak. So she continued to ask more questions.

"When you draw something, do you add the emotion in it?" Sakura asked.

Sai smiled." Of course not, I don't feel anything when I draw." He explained." Except for the fact that I just loved to the draw."

There was a moment of silence that took over the area, unbeknownst to the two, a certain blonde Uzumaki stood behind them.

"Make sense, no wonder you're a douchebag dattebayo!" A very familiar voice exclaimed.

Donning his signature black and orange jumpsuit, an annoyed Naruto stood from behind the two shinobi, his arms were folded, and was repeatedly using his foot to tap the ground. He also sucessfully caught the attention of both as they turned heads to him.

"Yamato-sensei has instructed us to gather back at the hotel for a brief mission meeting." He announced to the two while slowly walking towards them.

By the time he got there, He immediately took a look at the teens drawing and gave a digusted face." Ya know what? your drawing really sucks." He commented.

Sai smiled in return." Yes, just like your balls." He said which in turn irritated the blonde even more while the pink haired girl simply covered her mouth and looked away.

"Let's make this perfectly clear, If you really got a problem, why won't you say it straigh to my face dattebayo!" Naruto replied with his fist mid air." Do you really wanna settle this now!?"

Sai just sighed and smiled." You know it's a waste of time, and plus I really don't have an opinion on you or whatsoever." He simply said as began to pack up his things while a silent Naruto just stared at him.

Sakura also began to assist the teen on getting his things back to his back pack, it was also at this time when she noticed a small picture book which had a photo of a white haired boy." Who's this by the way?" She asked.

"It's my big brother, and this picture book belonged to him." Sai simply replied as he placed the picture book back into his back pack.

"He has a Big brother?" Sakura thought. She concluded that the teen was pretty much a mystery for now. To start things off, He had no surname, shows lack of emotion, and a mysterious past.

As for Naruto, He had only one comment on this.

"What the heck is he talking about?"

* * *

 **(LATER ON)**

The whole Public Hot Spring Experience was indeed a very weird yet fun adventure. At least for the two time travellers, who were able to get themselves involved in spending more time with their young parents. No one had topped the charts other than prank attempt by Boruto and his young dad that went horribly wrong.

Although, other than that it was quite an enjoyable experience for them as this maybe the last thing before they head straight to the place where the storm lies.

"Thank you for staying! Please do come back again if you can!

These were the words of the staff that bidded farewell to the team as they prepared to depart the resort. It was kind of a send off to his or her own final destination, that's what the two teens from the future saw. It seemed like things appeared to be strangely scripted such as why the staff members were coincidently and perfectly aligned in a row? They looked as if they were telling them that they will end up dead soon!

It was kind of creepy and weird but a mission is a mission and they gotta face whatever is ahead of them. Of course they've encoutered so many strange things before, but couldn't this get anymore ridiculous in the future? It will probably.

Both knew that second part of the adventure is expected to be more on the serious side of things and it had just begun.

* * *

 **An Uzumaki Girl's Life**

 **Location: Village of Konoha**

Dawn had finally arrived once again. The once night sky had began slowly to give its way for the rising sun as its brightness began to bring back the day to the world again.

Himawari yawned as she stood at her apartment unit's balcony witnessing the sunrise. The coldness of wind breeze through her as she grabbed the hot cup of chocolate, which was placed on top of the balcony wall. She took a sip of the hot drink to erase the cold feelings that she was currently having at this moment.

"Best Hot Chocolate ever!" Himawari commented. She felt relieved as the feeling of warmth took over.

This was one of the things that the teenage girl often does during the morning ever since she was a kid. It was a bit obvious that she inherited the early bird habit from her one and only mom, who was a considered a morning person to begin with. Since then, it was already a part of her body clock.

The usual morning routine consists of the Uzumaki teen waking up earlier than the rest, having her hot cup of chocolate milk at the apartment balcony and lastly, cooking and preparing breakfast. Although, this time, the routine had changed and since the two were currently on their mission, she found herself just having her hot chocolate milk and then the rest is free time.

The new routine was bit new to her since she was the only person in the apartment, it was kind of a first time being greeted by a silent atmosphere that she'd never gone through before but it was alright. The lavender haired girl Uzumaki had already planned out on what she was gonna do while the two were away for their mission.

From the apartment balcony overviewing a good chunk of the village, Himawari moved her eyes around and observed the view of the she had right now. The streets were still quiet but were now slowly coming to life. The lavender haired girl gave a smile as excitement and adrenaline began to rise up from the inside.

She had been waiting for this time to do it and she was really gonna do it. What's a girl going to do when there's nothing else to do? Why not try changed the routine a little bit and put some energy and passion in it?

Why not bring back the Shinobi routine of training and improving again?

So to speed up her time, Himawari finished her hot chocolate milk and went back inside.

She knew that were things that still needed to be readied but she was going to managed the time. In fact, she had the time to do whatever she wants and she chose it wisely. Like her big brother, she was going to set up her own exercise routine, which was a good thing. In order to make this work, she needed to get that energy and passion which starts by getting herself ready.

Himawari raced back to the room and on towards a certain cabinet which her clothes were stored. She searched through the neatly ironed stash of t-shirts, shorts, and pants in order to find her training outfit.

It didn't took long as she was able to find the training clothes, which she was looking for all this time. Once, she found it, she wasted no time dressing up, preparing the necessary things that she needed and in several minutes, she was now ready.

All that she needed to do is to start the routine at any time she wants.

Along the way, the lavender haired Uzumaki thought of her big brother and her big Uchiha sister were here to join her but unfortunately, they were still away on their mission. She also wondered on how they were doing right now? Were they enjoying the adventure so far?

There were so many questions running around her head that she would like to entertain but she didn"t have time to dwell in them. The girl then proceeded to leave the room and headed towards the living room enroute to the only door outside. Along the way she passed by a certain book which was laying on the living room floor nearby the couch.

With an excited grin on her face, Himawari opened the door as the newly raised sun greeted her, it was a sign that things would be really fun. So with one last move by putting on her Shinobi Headband, the girl decided that it was finally time to start the day with fire.

"Oh, this is going to be fun!"

* * *

 **(CHAPTER END)**

 **AN: Thank you for reading the chapter!**


	51. Arc 3 Phase 2: Uzumaki Girl's Daily Life

**I don't own Naruto. Kishimoto Does.**

 **Author's note: Hey there Readers!, Looks like we've finally entered Arc 3! I Hope you guys enjoy! I would also like to thank you guys for the Reviews. Favorites, and follows :) Thank you for also sharing your tips and thoughts for the story.**

 **Take note: The next chapter will be a continuation of the Tenchi Bridge Arc. This chapter will show the happenings back in the village while Boruto and Sarada are away for the retrieval mission.**

 **Expect some grammar and spelling mistakes along the way.**

 **Thank you for Understanding :)**

* * *

 **ARC 3 PHASE 2:**

 **Chapter 17: Daily life of an Uzumaki girl**

 **(Perfect Day By Hoku Playing in the background)**

Dawn had finally arrived once again. The once night sky had began slowly to give its way for the rising sun as its brightness began to bring back the day to the world again.

Himawari yawned as she stood at her apartment unit's balcony witnessing the sunrise. The coldness of wind breeze through her as she grabbed the hot cup of chocolate, which was placed on top of the balcony wall. She took a sip of the hot drink to erase the cold feelings that she was currently having at this moment.

"Best Hot Chocolate ever!" Himawari commented. She felt relieved as the feeling of warmth took over.

This was one of the things that the teenage girl often does during the morning ever since she was a kid. It was a bit obvious that she inherited the early bird habit from her one and only mom, who was a considered a morning person to begin with. Since then, it was already a part of her body clock.

The usual morning routine consists of the Uzumaki teen waking up earlier than the rest, having her hot cup of chocolate milk at the apartment balcony and lastly, cooking and preparing breakfast. Although, this time, the routine had changed and since the two were currently on their mission, she found herself just having her hot chocolate milk and then the rest is free time.

The new routine was bit new to her since she was the only person in the apartment, it was kind of a first time being greeted by a silent atmosphere that she'd never gone through before but it was alright. The lavender haired girl Uzumaki had already planned out on what she was gonna do while the two were away for their mission.

From the apartment balcony overviewing a good chunk of the village, Himawari moved her eyes around and observed the view of the she had right now. The streets were still quiet but were now slowly coming to life. The lavender haired girl gave a smile as excitement and adrenaline began to rise up from the inside.

She had been waiting for this time to do it and she was really gonna do it. What's a girl going to do when there's nothing else to do? Why not try changed the routine a little bit and put some energy and passion in it?

Why not bring back the Shinobi routine of training and improving again?

So to speed up her time, Himawari finished her hot chocolate milk and went back inside.

She knew that were things that still needed to be readied but she was going to managed the time. In fact, she had the time to do whatever she wants and she chose it wisely. Like her big brother, she was going to set up her own exercise routine, which was a good thing. In order to make this work, she needed to get that energy and passion which starts by getting herself ready.

Himawari raced back to the room and on towards a certain cabinet which her clothes were stored. She searched through the neatly ironed stash of t-shirts, shorts, and pants in order to find her training outfit.

It didn't took long as she was able to find the training clothes, which she was looking for all this time. Once, she found it, she wasted no time dressing up, preparing the necessary things that she needed and in several minutes, she was now ready.

All that she needed to do is to start the routine at any time she wants.

Along the way, the lavender haired Uzumaki thought of her big brother and her big Uchiha sister were here to join her but unfortunately, they were still away on their mission. She also wondered on how they were doing right now? Were they enjoying the adventure so far?

There were so many questions running around her head that she would like to entertain but she didn"t have time to dwell in them. The girl then proceeded to leave the room and headed towards the living room enroute to the only door outside. Along the way she passed by a certain book which was laying on the living room floor nearby the couch.

With an excited grin on her face, Himawari opened the door as the newly raised sun greeted her, it was a sign that things would be really fun. So with one last move by putting on her Shinobi Headband, the girl decided that it was finally time to start the day with fire.

"Oh, this is going to be fun!"

* * *

 **(WAKING UP)**

 **Location: Sarutobi Residence**

"Zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz."

Loud snoring was all that a certain small cute crimson nine-tailed fox could hear. Kurama gave a puzzled face as he observed a sleeping, drooling, and snoring Konohamaru, who was still on his bed despite the efforts of the alarm clock which was already ringing like crazy.

 **"Should I wake the kit up**?" He asked himself before turning to the screen." **Do you think I need to?"**

It was like promise that had never been fulfilled or just simply been broken. The brown haired boy told him in multiple occasions that he will always wake up in the morning on time, but it seemed that things were a long way to go. It was like he had found himself being turned into living alarm clock or maybe the second one. It seemed that everyday had been like this since, and it's already familiar to him considering that he had been into this kind of situation before.

Kurama sighed." **Well if I don't, then He might possibly get into trouble again."** He said to himself.

So it was finally decided as the cute nine-tailed fox, took a few steps towards the boy's head. Once there, he leaned for a little bit, directly near to the boy's ear. He then took a deep breath as he got ready wake the boy up as immediately as possible." Here we go." He whispered before fully opening his mouth.

" **HEY KIT, WAKE UP! YOU'RE LATE FOR SCHOOL!"**

The second alarm clocked through Kurama had finally sounded thus fully waking up the boy, who's eyes instantly opened wide like an owl. Konohamaru jolted up from his bed and not knowing that he accidentally pulled out an uppercut on the poor fox right in the face." Oh crap! I'm late again!" He exclaimed.

" **Oh that freaking hurts**." Kurama commented as he landed hard on the wooden floor for the hundredth time. This was always the thing what he gets for bringing himself and working so hard just to wake up the boy who cannot wake up all by himself.

As for Konohamaru, He was a bit busy searching for the alarm clock that he had set up last night. He knew that it just beside his head and he can't seemed to find it. Although, after a few seconds of processing his brain, He finally remembered and found it on the other side of his bed.

He immediately grabbed the alarm clock and to his shocked, it was already passed the time that he was supposed to wake up." Damn, I'm so in trouble for this." He said as he removed his blanket and slowly got up.

At the same time, He took noticed of Kurama who was on the wooden floor and was still feeling dizzy from the uppercut that he had sustained awhile ago." Good to see that you're awake Konohamaru." He said while forcing a smile.

"Kurama?" Konohamaru raised both eyebrows in confusion. He was a bit puzzled on the situation but didn't bothered enough to go deep down with his thoughts as he had only one goal in mind and that was to immediately dressed up, get ready and hurry up.

As for the still dizzy Kurama, He attempted to explained on what actually happened but he wasn't able to as the now fully dressed up brown haired boy from the Sarutobi clan, immediately suddenly grabbed him before he can say his first words.

"No time for explaining Kurama, we gotta hurry up or else I'll find myself in detention again!" Konohamaru said while carrying Kyuubi no Youko like a football as he zoomed pass by the dinner table, grabbed a piece of bread and headed straight to the door.

On the other hand, Kurama found himself being almost squeezed, and while stuck underneath the boy's right arm pit, he gave a sighed.

" **And I haven't eat my breakfast yet."**

* * *

 **(SPARRING SESSION AND CONVERSATIONS)**

 **Location: Konoha Training grounds**

It was a very light hearted and engaging morning at the training grounds. There were a certain group of individuals that were currently present at the said area. Right in the middle of the open field, Team Gai's Neji Hyuuga and Rock lee were currently engaged in a friendly sparring match, while from a few distances away, were the spectators: Hanabi Hyuuga and Tenten, who were yelling motivational words as if they were the boys' coaches.

"Come on Lee, You can do it!"

"Kick his ass, Neji!"

It was basically full of yells around the area. The two guys could only sighed and chuckled it off but although there also astonished on how these two girls were very much supportive of them and it was a good thing as that fueled the intensity of the sparring match even more.

Rock Lee gave a small smile." You know Neji, something tells me that this going to be a really good sparring match." He said while giving a high kick that directly went towards his teammate's face who was able to blocked it.

"Yeah, no doubt about it Lee." Neji smirked as he blocked the kicked against him. He then move swiftly and attempted to counter it with a strike which the other was able to avoid again.

Rock Lee replied with a smirked as he decided to go at his teammate and unleashed a series of combos which mostly consists all of his Taijutsu prowess. His speed was his major factor in the match which won him a lot of one on one battle. Although, the only one problem was that his leg, which was injured in the previous mission, still gave him a little bit of pain, but overall, he was good to go.

Neji, on the other hand, took on a defensive role. Similar to his teammate in front of him, he would mostly go towards the offensive side but as of now, he wanted take a different route and found himself learning on how to counter the attacks and find a way to end the game with one move even though he knew that it was going to be impossible.

* * *

For the meantime, the two teens traded roles, with Rock Lee switching into the defensive side while Neji going at the offensive role and then vice versa. A sparring match much like this was already the usual to them. It was first taught by their sensei, who also valued the physical combat skills and reflex and by doing this often, it made things sure that they were on the right path.

The ending was left open to the audience to wonder. They were not sure who will have the last laugh or last move but it was sure a heck of match. For Tenten, she was just really enjoying the scene. She had to admit that she's still improving her Taijutsu while her teammates' were already way above her but she wasn't going to give up yet.

"So who usually wins the fight?" Hanabi, who was beside her, asked.

Tenten gave a smile." Well, it's like an alternate thing, Neji wins on the first match, then the next day, Lee took the W and then the next day, Neji wins again and then vice versa." She explained.

"Oh I guess that's cool." Hanabi raised both eyebrows and nodded." It's like an endless series of rematches."

Tenten nodded." Yup, and in fact I did tallied the points and number of wins and loses." He explained." Yesterday, Neji lost by a small margin but I have a feeling that he is going to get his W today."

"Oh you mean like that?" Hanabi asked as she pointed to the scene of the sparring match.

Tenten then turned her head and was surprised to find her bushy brow teammate, who was almost at the ends of the ropes but was able to recover from the barrages of combos that the brown haired Hyuuga gave him.

"Well, that was a close one to be honest." Tenten gave a small chuckle.

"Yeah, I know, looks like those are the best of friends." Hanabi commented.

Tenten nodded." No doubt about it, when it comes to sparring matches like this, they do really get along and have fun." She said.

Hanabi simply smiled and nodded. A memory suddenly came to her and she remembered the sparring matches between her and her big sister. It was a series of competitive but friendly matches but nowadays, it was all but a rare thing.

At the same time, Tenten had released a question towards the younger Hyuuga." So how's the sibling relationship thing so far?" She asked.

Hanabi sighed but smiled." Well, to be honest, it still in progress but I'm glad to say that things are on the right track." She said. She would go on to explained that the three Hyuugas were on paced to have a family outing today after all these training sessions.

"I'm glad to hear it, I hope you guys enjoy your family outing." Tenten smiled and said." By the way where it will be held?"

Hanabi stayed quiet for a little while and gave a smile, she was the one that decided on where it will be held and it was going to be a surprised." Well, let's just say that the outing would be a surprised for a certain someone." She said.

Tenten raised both eyebrows." Oh, okay And I guess that surprised would for Hinata, and speaking of her, where's she by the way?" She asked.

Hanabi smiled." As of now, Big sis is with her team and doing their stuff I guess." She simply explained.

"Looks and sounds like what their team would do." Tenten commented as the two chuckled.

"You know I noticed a few things about your big sister." Tenten said as she remembered the last times she met and conversed with the older Hyuuga girl.

"A few things?" Hanabi asked.

Tenten simply nodded." Yup and I think there's more, but from what I noticed, she is more confident now than before." She said." Plus, She rarely stutters now."

Hanabi blinked a couple of times as she just stared at the older brown haired girl before shooking her head to reality." Oh yeah, I get what you mean, she really had a personality upgrade." She said.

"You sounded like as if this was the first time you heard it." Tenten said. She was wondering on why Hanabi looked so surprised and a bit new to the news.

"Well, maybe I'm just tired." Hanabi gave a small grin.

Tenten simply nodded and continued. "In fact, I'm quite surprised that she also wears a different outfit at times." She said. She would then tell that she saw the older Hyuuga girl wearing this beautiful and simple dress, when she passed by the public market weeks ago.

"Yup, she goes to the market to buy the ingredients for lunch or dinner, kinda like how our mom used to do when she was still here." Hanabi explained.

"Well, I guess she's following her footsteps then." Tenten said." In fact, she went to visit me not too long ago and gave me some of the food she herself cooked and they're delicious! " She added.

Hanabi gave a small smile." Well good to hear that, big sis makes the best dish in town." She said.

"I gotta say that you're really lucky to have a big sister like her." Tenten commented while the other girl simply smile and nodded.

"Let's just don't let Neji be too much overprotective of her or something might happen." She added."

Hanabi nodded." Yeah, I understand." She said as she turned her eyes back to the middle of the field where the sparring match was held and was now finally over.

* * *

 **(MEANWHILE)**

Rock lee was breathing heavily in and out as he dropped to the grassy ground in defeat. He never thought that he would lose this time again to his teammate." You're getting faster Neji." He commented.

Neji simply smiled and walked up to his bushy brow friend and offer to a hand to helped him get up." Well, I guess all that training really paid off." He said with a slight chuckle.

"Yeah, I agree with you on that." Rock Lee said as he chuckled along." I guess you'll be taking the number one spot for awhile."

"And I hope that you're leg gets a full recovery soon." Neji said as he finally helped his teammate recover from the ground.

"By the way Neji, Can I ask you something?" Rock Lee said.

"Yeah, what is it?" Neji said.

"Well, It's about Bolt, you know the rookie that was assigned during the previous mission." Rock Lee said." Do you think he is fast and strong too?"

Neji stayed silent for a little while, He quickly remembered the Uzumaki siblings, his nephews from the future." Well, I'm not really sure because I haven't seen him in a battle or match before." He said." Why do you asked?"

"I just wanted to know more about him, I got a feeling that he is not just rookie if you know what I mean." Rock Lee explained." He might be a prodigy."

A small smile formed around the Hyuuga's lips." Yeah maybe." He said.

"A-And by the way!, I think his little sister too is a prodigy!" Rock Lee added. He was a bit hyped about the Uzumaki siblings or Maybe it was just his Youth side fueling him up.

Neji could only sighed at his bushy brow friend. Although, he thought about the siblings, especially Himawari. How were they doing nowadays? Have they fully adjusted? There were so many questions forming around his head and the only thing he can do is pay the guys a visit.

"I hope they're fine."

* * *

 **(A PERFECT DAY)**

"Isn't that what I thinked it is?

"Isn't that Himawari?"

"You looked awesome Himawari-chan!"

Those were the words that the lavender haired teen heard as she passed by the shophouses of the village. It was kind of surreal for her as if everybody knew her, and in fact most of the people from those shops were. She could only smile and waved at them back, even the some of the kids tried to catch up with her but couldn't as she was just too fast for them.

"Bye guys!"

Himawari said to the kids, who were just energetic as her and she never looked back. As of now, She had one goal in mind and that is to go to a certain place that she usually goes to almost everyday. She then took the familiar route which will led her to the public market in about minutes time.

Himawari really liked to take power jogs in the morning, and that is when she has the time. But this time, she was kind of adding this to the routine which was very much successful to say at least, and the morning power jog would be really boring if it weren't for the obstacles ahead of her.

There were actually three of those obstacles that she had to face before the reaching the finish line. Himawari smirked as she went right through the heart of those obstacles. The first one obstacle involves traversing through stretches of alleyways around the village. It was something like of those Parkour games, where one had to aim to get from one point to another in a complex environment, without assistive equipment and in the fastest and most efficient way possible.

To Himawari, she just smiled and calmly took the challenge, she dodged and avoided most of the complex things ahead of her in the alleyways. One such thing is trying to passed through stacks of abandoned furniture that had been turned into walls all over the years and a a little obstacle of avoiding stray angry dogs around the area. There were actually a lot of obstacles and the lavender haired teen managed to passed them all.

When she got out from the alleyway, she then immediately entered the second obstacle which was to simply get passed through the growing number of crowds as the day continued on.

"Looks like, I'll just take this easy then." Himawari thought. There was really no reason to speed this all up, and considering that the crowd was growing, she decided to heat the brakes for awhile and continued by doing the slow jog along the way.

It was at the same time when the Uzumaki girl unknowingly passed by two certain individuals, who were also walking along the streets as of now. Those two people were none other than Konohamaru and Kurama, who were on their way to their own destination.

* * *

 **(MEANWHILE)**

Kurama widened his eyes as he stopped his tracks for awhile. He felt a familiar energy or aura which belonged to a certain person that he can't figured out, that passed by them. The fox moved his crimson eyes around the growing crowd and he attempted to find the source.

He would later sighed in a disappointment as the familiar energy slowly faded away.

On the other hand, Konohamaru found himself confused and wondering on why the fox had suddenly stopped his tracks and began looking amongst the crowd.

"Hey something wrong Kurama?" He asked.

As for Kurama, He decided to just let it go and turned back to the kit." **Nah, I'm fine, It's just that I thought I saw someone from the crowd** " He explained." **Someone that I somehow knew."**

Konohamaru blinked a couple of times before replying." Oh I see, I didn't know you had a friend here in the village?" He asked.

Kurama could only sighed." **Nevermind, let's just moved on."** He said." We still have time before you find yourself late again."

"Oh, you're right about that! Let's go then!" Konohamaru said.

As the two continued on their journey, Kurama was still left wondering about that familiar energy. It was like the energy somehow wasn't from this time and that really blew his mind a little. There was this hope that began to grow inside of him and he thought that the other might have survived and been living in this time line.

* * *

( **MORE INTEL)**

 **Location: The Clinic**

"I got some interesting news for ya."

With one eyebrow raised, Miyuki, who was sitting in her desk, observed the tired-looking Showtaro, who had just came back from the Pure land and accompanying him is a sealed enveloped with a document inside, which he was holding right at the moment.

However, it was not the envelope that she spoke about." What happened to you? You looked as if you survived being grilled alive." She commented and the way she really voiced her concerned.

Showtaro just gave a nervous grin. "Yeah I know, I did what all I could to be invisible from them." He explained." So far, I'm still in one piece." He said while sighing in relief.

It was a good thing that nobody was noticing his actions, many still thought of him as still being part of the council or maybe as one of those low profile employees and it was good thing for his boss as he can act as the second eyes towards the Pure Land. As for Miyuki, she really cared for her friends and assets and she would always advice them to be careful whenever they go back there.

"So what's this document all about." Miyuki asked as she examined the sealed enveloped.

For Showtaro, a sweat can be noticably seen dropping from the side of his head. He was a bit hesitant to give the document at first and was also nervous to reveal it with his own words. He figured that it would be best for the woman to know the information by herself.

It didn't take a few seconds as Miyuki immediately opened the envelope and took out the documents inside. The documents were revealed to be several papers and which discussed about the happenings in the council and especially the enemy's plans.

She didn't wasted any time as she immediately read the documents contents which discussed three important news. The first news that she'd learned was about suspicious movements amongst the council as there has been a ongoing discussion about changing the the main system of ruling, which was in its current state of democratic rule. The reason for the changes was that everything waa going nowhere.

To Miyuki, it was all to suspicious. The plan was basically to changed the current governing system into some form of an authoritarian one and by doing this, Ammendments are going to have to implemented to make way for a new constitution and laws. So in simple terms, His goal was to be the new leader under the guised of legal ways, which was a clever thing to do.

"Sounds like a move that he would do." She commented.

The second news that she'd learned was about the Otsutsuki clan. It seemed that there were efforts to search for the clan's missing princess. Most of everybody have no clue where she was located but the clan had already sent its investigators to find the long lost heiress. Only a handful of people knew where she was exactly located, and that includes Miyuki herself, who was the one to oversee her sealing on the new moon, a long time ago.

"So do you think freeing her from the moon is a part of his plan?" Showtaro asked.

Miyuki simply nodded." Yes, that was his plan all along since from the beginning, He even used the Black Zetsu, which was basically Kaguya's will and spy to set up a long chain of events that will eventually lead to her release." She explained.

"So the only way stop all of this is track that Black Zetsu guy and stop him first?" Showtaro asked.

Miyuki nodded." That's just a part of the bigger picture." She said." He's not just the only one that has to be stopped" She paused for a little while." There's the Akatsuki, the other people that had been turned into pawns, and his henchmen."

"Oh, I kind of forgot that part." Showtaro said as he scratched the back of his head.

Miyuki just sighed as she then proceeded back on to reading the final document in a form of a letter from the council itself. When she read the letter, her eyes widened in disbelief." Is this is some kind of joke?" She asked as she gave the duck a look.

"Well, I woudn't call it a fake news either." Showtaro said." What you're reading right now is true." He explained. "They're giving you a warning, and if you exceeded your leave, they will have to summoned you back to the cage if you know what I mean." He said.

Miyuki could only held her forehead in disappointment and annoyance." You've got to be kidding me, are they crazy!? I just filed a leave about a couple of months ago!." She said. She wondered on what in the world happened this time. She really disliked the way how those people from the council act and boss around and after all these years, they still haven't changed.

"Just calm down Miyuki, everybody knows the council is a lost cause, they're just a bunch of people who cares for themselves." Showtaro said. There was really no choice about it. They had to face the consequences.

"I know that, although are there any news about those henchmen?" Miyuki asked.

At the same time, Showtaro widened his eyes as he finally remembered what he was going to say." Oh yes! I almost forgot about to tell you that one of them is on the move." He said with serious tone in his voice.

"Wait, so you finally managed to tracked one of them down?" Miyuki asked.

"Well sort of, one of our assets managed to tracked one down in the forest and near a bridge known as Tenchi." He explained." I guess that's where the blonde kid and his friend are going to right now."

Miyuki nodded in understanding." Hmmm, I guess you're right, Maybe you should go there and keep on eye on the two kids for awhile." She said." They need the guidance on their mission and on how to deal with them."

Showtaro simply nodded in agreement." Of course Miyuki, I'll be there as soon as possible." He said. Looks like another mission is upon yet again and this time, it was in the human world.

"Be careful." Miyuki gave a smile.

Showtaro replied with a nod and as he was about to leave the place, he immediately remembered a question that he was going to ask.

"Uhmm, Miyuki I wanna asked you something before I leave." He said.

Miyuki, who was gone back into her daily paperwork, then looked up." Yeah sure, what is it?"

Showtaro then took a deep breath first before releasing his words." Well, do you feel comfortable in that appearance?" He asked.

"Yeah, why do you asked?" Miyuki raised both eyebrows and said." Is there something wrong the way I looked nowadays?"

Showtaro then immediately shook his head." Uhmm, No there is nothing actually wrong, but I just I kind of forgot on what your real form looked liked." He said. He only remembered pieces of vague memories which shows a mysterious beautiful young woman.

Miyuki just sighed and smiled." Well if that's the case then, I'm sorry that you've forgot all about it, but I'll tell you that It will be really scary for idiots who dared to take me out. by themselves" She explained.

"Oh well then, I guess I should be going now." Showtaro said as he headed to the open window and left the scene.

"See ya around."

As for Miyuki, she gave a little smile. She was also a bit surpised when he asked her about that subject, but that was way back in the past and she has moved on from all of that. Right now, she has to focus on the game first and try win.

* * *

 **(UNEXPECTED MEETING** )

After going through all those obstacles and passing all of them. It was alright to say that Himawari had finally arrived at her destination, which was the Public Market. With sweat all over her head, she immediately took her headband of and placed it inside a plastic which she brought for the journey.

Himawari wiped all the sweat around her head using her trusty small towel. She was just preparing herself yet again for another time at the market. She needed to buy something, which was basically ingredients for supper later on and she also didn't want to be smelly when she enters the place.

So after preparing herself for a few minutes, she was finally ready and entered the market with her goal in mind.

By the time she entered the market, she was then greeted by the growing masses of customers. The lavender haired teen then checked her time and soon discovered that two hours had already passed since she began her power jog.

"Looks like this will be another long morning in the market for me." Himawari thought to herself. Although, it wasn't considered to be a problem for her since she already has the experienced to be in places like this.

So another adventure in the market began.

"Let's see here." Himawari said as she checked her list of ingredients that she needed to buy. "Looks like we'll be doing veggie stew with fried salmon for dinner." She added as she then headed to the vegetable section first.

There was a reason why she would buy the ingredients for dinner only. Basically, it was that she had planned on eating lunch outside for the first time in awhile and since her big brother and adoptive big sister were on their mission, why not?

Himawari walked through crowd and passed by the other sections of the wet market. Along the way, she saw a mother and daughter walking along the areas of the market. She gave a smile as it brought the feelings of nostalgia yet again. She remembered those times when she was little, where her mom would often take her to the market to buy ingredients.

It was kind of surreal for her to be here right now. The atmosphere and ambience was so perfect, and it wasn't a coincidence.

After immersing herself with nostalgia, the Uzumaki girl continued on, not knowing that she had finally reached the seafood section of the market. " Well, I guess it can sneak in first." She said. She was supposed to head to the veggie section although, she found herself in a different area and the veggie section was a few blocks away from here.

So the Uzumaki teen did what she had to do and proceeded to the section where the salmon was located. It was also at the same section where the seafood vendors that she met and made friends with were stationed.

"Hey Himawari! Good to see you again!"

"You looked wonderful today!"

Comments much like that were often to enter the girl's ears whenever she enters the place. She really appreciated the greetings and her secret was simple. Stay Positive and Humble all the time as she engaged a conversation with a certain vendors

"May I have 2 pieces of Salmon?" Himawari said as she placed her orders.

"Coming right up!" A seafood vendor young man said as he prepared and cut off the salmon's meat, while engaging a conversation with the girl.

"Haven't seen you in awhile lately, what were you up to?" The young man asked.

Himawari gave a smile." Well, I was assigned on a mission with my big brother and friend, and I think it took one full week before we got home." She explained." But, it was worth the journey, you're really gonna loved it, Genzo!"

"Oh I see, so you're one of those Shinobis now huh?" Genzo asked.

Himawari simply nodded." Well sort of, I was assigned an observer and I'm still considered rookie for your information." She explained.

"Then I wish you the best on your Shinobi career, I heard they often go to dangerous places." He said.

"Well, that's a part of the whole process, you really have no choice but to go through it." Himawari explained. Trust me, it's not easy being a Shinobi if you're planning to be one."

The young man gave a small chuckle." I understand, but I guess we'll see in the future." He said as he handed the two pieces of salmon, which was contain inside a plastic bag." Here you go."

Himawari grinned." Thank you very much." As she also offered the money to the young man.

It was also at the same time when the young man spoke yet again and told the short haired teen about the happenings in the market while she was away.

"Ya know, there was this beautiful girl that had been coming here in the market for quite sometime now, and at first, I thought it was you but not really." He explained with a slight chuckle.

Himawari raised both eyebrows." What do you mean by that?" She asked.

"Well, she really looked a lot like you except that she has longer hair and she even has the same hair color as you!" The young vendor informed." It led me to think that you girls are from the same clan or somehow?"

Himawari gave a puzzled looked." What do you mean by clan?"

"I heard that she belonged to the clan with that cool white eye ability or whatsoever." He said.

Himawari then widened her eyes surprised." You mean the Hyuuga Clan?"

"Exactly!"

There was a moment of silence that took over. It was impossible to think that the young lady was her mom. She heard first hand from her Aunt Hanabi that her mom was shy and not a type of person that would go to the market and buy some stuff. From what all she knows, there were a lot of long lavender haired girls from the Hyuga clan, not just one. So it was really impossible for that person to be her mom.

Himawari then went back to reality and smiled." Well, I guess so but I really need to go, see ya around!"

"Take care." The young vendor said.

* * *

 **(LATER ON)**

As the day continued on, Himawari then proceeded to the vegetable section. She walked along these small pathway filled with customers. The atmosphere had finally reached its peak as the place began to get morw busy as ever.

"Alright, next on the list is onions, gingers, and veggies." She thought while looking at her list.

She tried to keep her mind occupied from the thoughts of that certain person that her friend mentioned not too long ago. She tried to shrugged it off as just a random person that she didn't know.

"Come on! Get hold of yourself." Himawari annoyingly thought to herself as she continued on.

After several minutes of walking, she finally reached her destination. The familiar scent of the vegetables was proof that she was in the right place. Himawari then smiled as she took the few steps towards the stalls. Although unbeknownst to her, there was a certain individual heading towards her direction at a fast paced.

"Woof!"

That was the first thing that the Uzumaki girl heard when she was then tackled by a huge white furry dog that almost put her to the ground.

"Woah!" Himawari immediately regained her balance as the huge dog began to act playful with her." Easy there boy, you're really hyper today." She said as dog continued to playfully barked at her.

"Slow down Akamaru!"

At the same time, a female voice was then heard calling out the dog and there was another person heading towards her direction. It took short while as the person finally arrived at the scene.

It was teenage girl to be exact, she had long lavender hair, bangs, and was wearing a light pink shirt, light grayish skirt which stretched all the way to her ankles, and a lavender colour coat covering them all together. She had this warm and bright aura that shined all throughout.

"I really apologized for what happened." The girl said and she mean't it.

"No, it's okay, He's actually playful." Himawari said as she patted the huge white dog, who was trying to play with her.

"It's my friends do actually, I'm just taking him for stroll when he suddenly took off to somewhere." The girl explained."

"Oh I see, what's his name by the way? He really looks so familiar." Himawari asked.

"His name is Akamaru." The teenage girl smiled and said.

Himawari smiled." Well, that is a really cute name for huge dog." She chuckled." Oh, and my name id Himawari by the way." She said as she formally introduced herself while at the same time, looking up only to meet a very familiar face which really surprised and shocked her.

On the other hand, the teenage girl simply smiled as she offered her hand to the Uzumaki girl."Nice to meet you Himawari."

"My name is Hinata."

 **(CHAPTER END)**

* * *

 **AN: Thank you for reading Chapter**!


	52. Arc 3 Phase 2: Journey to Tenchi Bridge

**I don't own Naruto. Kishimoto Does.**

 **Author's note: Hey there Readers!, Looks like we've finally entered Arc 3! I Hope you guys enjoy! I would also like to thank you guys for the Reviews. Favorites, and follows :) Thank you for also sharing your tips and thoughts for the story.**

 **Take note: Looks like the Tench Bridge incident is finally steps ahead. This chapter will tackle Boruto and Sarada's journey to the bridge along with the team.**

 **Expect some grammar and spelling mistakes along the way.**

 **Thank you for Understanding :)**

* * *

 **Arc 3: Phase 2**

 **Chapter 18: Journey to Tenchi Bridge**

 ** _"Sarada's Diary Log"_**

 _"Being in this journey and this mission is both a blessing and a curse for us. A blessing because it felt like the old times, when the team was still together. A curse, because we were still not familiar with the places that we went by during the journey. It was like a new world for us, and we were just only our way to the Tenchi Bridge, which looked very way different back in our time._

 _"I have to say that there is a big difference, that I recently noticed, during the mission. I noticed that the traveling aspect was more harder and longer than I thought, compared to our time when traveling itself was made easier because all of the technological advances made for the transportation. Although, that's a different story, we're in the past so we really have no choice but to adapt._

 _Moving on from that, the mission is still in progress, after the team's vacation-like experience back at the public hot spring resort, we were finally back and now continuing on the journey to the Tenchi Bridge, where according to Sasori, his asset was supposed to meet him exactly at noon. We really don't know the asset's true identity but something tells me that it will not be a good meeting. Since this was considered an A-S rank mission, we really had to be careful from now on._

 _Going back to my thoughts, I've been recently thinking or rather envisioning scenarios on how would it be like meeting the younger version of Papa and my mind kept repeating the same thing all over again, Was it true that he was a very different person? Was he really that bad according to Mama?_

 _So far the only few things that I can depend on is none other than the stories that Mama told me. Stories about the past, that I considered very much useful on this mission and journey. I'm not sure about Boruto but, I guess he has the same thoughts as well._

 _Another thing that I took note of is what Miyuki had told us days before. She really didn't go in exact detail but she had warned us about the enemy and their watchful eyes. Who knows what they'll be like or what would they looked like but we have to keep our guard and be alert for the meantime._

 _We just have to focus on the mission for awhile."_

* * *

 **(JOURNEY CONTINUES)**

"Do you remember when travelling around the coutryside was much easier than in past?"

The first voice was finally heard in the midst of the windy silence but only to the two time travelling teens themselves. Something had just came up into the blonde's mind, while he was observing the country side, and nearing of that stage of the journey, he was able to start a conversation.

Sarada's ears raised up as she caught her teammate's voice and then turned to him." Easier? You mean travelling easier because of the advance mode transportation back in our time right?" She said.

Boruto simply nodded while giving his teammate a small smile" Yup exactly! Although, if you try to look back, you start realized that the many trains in our time really helped a lot of travellers, especially Shinobi like us going on missions." He explained.

"I see your point Bolt, but we are in the past and it's a different story, Most of the country side is still in its underdeveloped state." She explained." I'm sure modern trains would be invented and developed in the near future, but I guess not in this timeline."

Boruto blinked and gave a small chuckle." Well, I guess in twenty years or so" He said." Then we might ride those trains again." He said.

"Are you guys talking about that cool steam engine machines that travels to far places?"

A familiar voice had entered the conversation and it was none other than Naruto himself, who had overheard the topic that the two rookies were talking about not too long go. The teen himself was interested because he had seen an actual train before.

"Uhmm, Yes I think so" Boruto was the first one to reply." Have you rode one before?" He asked.

Naruto simply grinned." Yup! I did rode one, but that was a very long time ago." He said. He would then go on to the explained that it was 2-3 years ago when they were assigned to escort an actress, playing the role of a action princess of a movie, who turned out to be a real and actual princess in real life.

"Then during that mission, we rode this kind of moving machine which turned out to be a "train" and I was really stoked about it Dattebayo!" Naruto continued with a grin. He still remembered those good old days when everything was seemed to be fine.

As for Boruto and Sarada, they just go with the flow while the future seventh Hokage told them more stories about the particular mission. They were somehow really enjoying the company of the blonde, who was surprisingly a good story teller and entertainer. They realized that this was how Naruto appeared and acted towards to the people, that he felt comfortable interacting with. It was like interacting with a happy kid near

"And so that's how we rescued Ms. Yukie-chan and saved the day." Naruto paused as he finished telling his story." I know it's corny but that's how I saw it, so yeah hehe." He gave a little chuckle.

"It's actually kind of cool to be honest, to be able to summarized all that in one go." Sarada spoke this time and commented.

"Ya think? I'm so flattered Dattebayo!" Naruto replied with grin while scratching the back of his head." I guess Sakura-chan would like to tell her side of the story." He said as he turned eyes towards his pink haired teammate.

"Hmmm, that seems strange, She's really quiet today." Naruto wondered.

"Is she okay?" Boruto asked.

Naruto sligtly nodded." Well, she is fine but sometimes she's having this occasional headaches which I can't figured out." He explained.

"Headaches? I thought they were gone, when did those headaches start appearing again?" Sarada asked. She was surprised when she heard about this.

"Not too long ago, although I think she is just stress and tired." Naruto said. His tone of voice immediately changed from bright to gloomy. He was a bit concerned for his teammate as two straight missions in a row seemed to have an effect on her well being.

Sarada nodded in understading. She began to observed her young mom from behind and gave a slight worried face. Was she really alright? How was she? She remembered her being alright back at the tea house, except for a moment when the headache appeared again and she became dizzy and held her head in pain for a bit.

She really need to monitor her young Mama from now on.

* * *

 **(LITTLE FOREST)**

The travelling throughout the countryside part was finally over, the team had reached the next stage of their journey. What was once a beautiful view of vast greenfields just awhile ago had been slowly changing into a place run by a lot of trees.

The sounds of the wind rustling through the trees acted as a signal or message that they arrived at the forest, which was welcoming them with open arms. Yamato observed his surroundings, thinking which way or route should they take later on. They were still on the main road for now.

"So which one is the right route?" The brown haired instructor thought to himself. He was slightly moving his eyes all around the place, looking for that area where a shortcut was located that will lead them immediately to a small open field in the middle of the forest.

"Need any help Yamato-sensei?" The voice of Naruto was heard.

Yamato slightly turned around to face the blonde." I'm fine, It's just that I'm locating an area where a shortcut is located." He explained.

"A shorcut?"

Yamato simply nodded." Yes Naruto, It's been a long time since I've been into the Tenchi Bridge." He said." Maybe that particular area is now overgrown by trees."

It was kind of a surprised for the rest of the members, that the brown haired man himself had been into the bridge before. The only problem was that it was years ago and the man had already forgotten on what the spot actually looked like.

"Well, I'm afraid to say that we have to take time to search for that spot." Yamato said as he was about to instruct the rest of the team to assist him on searching for this spot where the shorcut was located.

Unbeknowst to the man, a certain Uchiha girl had secretly tapped into her Sharingan and was able to locate the spot in just a matter of seconds." Uhmm, Yamato-sensei, I think the spot is that way." Sarada said as she pointed to a certain distance.

The rest of the team turned their heads towards her. All of them except for Boruto, where surprised to hear that she finally found the spot earlier than expected.

"You mean that way?" Naruto asked.

Sarada simply nodded." Yes, the area is just ahead, so we need to pass a few distances to reach there." She explained." It's only a walking distance to begin."

"Oh."

There was a moment of silence that took over for awhile before Yamato broke the silence and spoke." Now I remember, She is right, the shortcut is just a few blocks up ahead." He said as he turned around and continued the journey.

Naruto and Sakura gave glances at each other before continuing and following the man, Sai gave a few moments to observed the girl before going as well. As for Boruto, the blonde just gave his teammate a pat on the shoulder and nodded at her.

Sarada just sighed and gave a small smile." Phew! That was a close one." She commented.

The raven haired girl had apparently immediately and quickly used her sharingan to locate the area in order to speed up the process and mission. She knew that showing off her clan's eye in front of everybody could have drastic effects on the timeline. Although, it was for the best and she was able to get away with it.

* * *

 **(LATER ON)**

It didn't take too long enough for the team to finally reached their destination and locate the area where the shortcut itself was located. Surprisingly, it was not overgrown as expected and the shortcut was revealed to be an entrance to a certain forest.

"So this is the shorcut?" Naruto asked. He was wondering why everyone was just staring at the certain direction.

Yamato simply nodded." Yes Naruto, this is indeed the shortcut that I'm talking about." He said." It's quite surprising that the place hasn't changed a bit that I thought it was finally been blocked by all of these overgrown grass.

"We better moved on now." He added as the he continued on and headed straight to the forest itself.

He was then followed by Naruto and Sakura at the same time while Sai was behind and also ahead of the two rookies.

Boruto stopped his tracks as he noticed that his raven haired teammate was not moving and only standing at her spot. The blonde immediately went to the girl with confused eyes.

"Hey Sarada-chan are you alright?" He asked.

Sarada gave sighed and a small nervous smile." Of course, I'm fine Bolt, It's just that no dark creepy forest can stop me on this mission." She said. In truth, she was a little bit scared that she remembered a time when she, accompanied by Boruto, entered a a famous horror house which had a forest setting and this really creeps her out right now.

"Oh come on, you're better than this! You've been to a lot of places like this and you managed to get through all of them Dattebassa." Boruto said." I'm sure that no creepy dark forest will stop you, Sarada-chan." He tried his best to motivate his teammate.

"Don't worry, I got your back." Boruto added.

As for Sarada, she gave the blonde a smile and a nod. Her teammate was the best at motivating people to overcome challenges and she doesn't see any reason on why she shouldn't continue on. She then took a deep breath for a moment and continued on.

"Alright, Let's do this!"

* * *

 **(LITTLE FOREST)**

It was like entering a new place to begin with. The rays of the sun could barely get even through the huge trees that stood tall and dominated the entire area of the forest. It was not only that, the team had been traversing the forest for quite sometime now and there were hardly any signs of the right way out.

Yamato had instructed the rest of the team to stay together in order everyone not to get separated or get lost. It was always a part of team traditions, in situation like this, hostile forces could be anywhere.

"Stay together team, this is only temporary." Yamato announced while leading the rest. He was quite confident that the rest were ready and mature enough to handle situations like this. They were born and raised to be hardened Shinobi.

Moving on from the brown haired man's perspective, It was something different on what was happening right now. It wasn't the results that he was expecting and he was very much unaware to what was happening to rest of the team right now.

A few walking distances from behind, Chaos or rather a series of freak outs had plague the young group. Aside from Sai, who was normally walking and catching up with Yamato, things had been a bit adventurous and humorous for Naruto, Sakura and the two rookies.

In a synchronized manner, it started with the two blondes telling the girls some jokes to lightened up their mood and give them confidence as they traversed the forest. It was all going well at first until it slowly turned into some kind of a teasing scare fest. Naruto didn't meant harm when he teased his teammate about ghost, which led to a small series of pranking jumpscares, which also led to the blonde getting accidentally smacked in the head by the pink haired girl and almost getting knockout unconscious.

As a result, Sakura had no choice but to assist her teammate along the way.

As for the two time travellers, their experience in the creepy forest was more in the real side stuff. Boruto, on the other hand began to cheer his teammate up all he can just to keep her mind occupied from being creeped out in the forest. This attempt had a successful but short run. It was all going well when a spider appeared from a random tree startling the two especially Sarada, who had fully freaked out.

Boruto was about to calm her down when he was unexpectedly grabbed and carried off by a freaked out Sarada like a sack of rice blasted off the scene just to escape a very confused spider, who just coincidentally was there and crossed paths with the two.

All those things happened beyond Yamato's awareness, by the time he decided to turned around to check on the crew, he became confused as he saw the two girls assisting both exhausted blondes.

"Are you guys alright?" Yamato asked.

"Yup, we're fine sensei!" Both blondes replied in unison as they gave a grin.

* * *

 **(SETTING UP CAMP)**

Several Hours had already passed since the team entered the forest.

it was not all the humorous side of things that happened during their journey through the forest. As the team finally reached the end point of their little forest experience, they arrived at a small open field.

This was already expected by Yamato himself, the area was mostly used by some travellers to set up their own camps. Since the afternoon had arrived unnoticably during their time inside the forest, it was a good and practical idea to set up their camp in this empty space of lot.

Yamato stopped his tracks and observed the area for a few moments." Looks like we're on the right place." He thought to himself.

"Uhmm, Yamato-sensei? Aren't we going to continue on?" Sakura asked. She was wondering on why the brown haired instructor wasn't moving on.

Yamato then turned around and said." I apologized for not telling you guys early, but we are going to set up camp here for awhile."

Set up camp? but we only have a limited amount of time to reached the bridge, Sensei." Naruto explained. He was also surprised, they really can't waste time right now. They need to be at the bridge before the spy reaches it first.

Yamato just sighed but smiled." Just calm down and don't worry, the bridge is just up ahead." He replied much to the surprised reactions of the rest.

"Up ahead?, you mean the bridge is just a few blocks away?" Naruto asked.

Yamato simply nodded "Yes, and so I was saying that we should set up camp here so that we can plan and prepare on what's ahead." He explained." Remember, it also could be a potential ambush by the Akatsuki themselves."

The rest of the team just nodded in understanding while their main instructor proceeded with his next plan. He walked a few steps facing towards the middle of the field. He then took a deep breath before forming a hand sign thus performing his own signature jutsu.

 **"Mokuton: Four Pillar House!"**

Yamato said in the midst of a windy silence. At the same time, the ground began to shake for a little bit, and in the middle of the small field, a series of huge woods began to erupt from the ground on towards the sky. It soon began to take shape into a large two storey building complete with a Konoha symbol displayed on the middle of the entrance.

The rest of the team just watched in awe as they found themselves staring at their new camp house. Reactions were mostly coming from Naruto and Sakura, who were very much amazed on what their new sensei can do.

Meanwhile, the two rookies were having their own thoughts about it.

"This is quite cool, I never knew Yamato-sensei can create a house with a nice design." Boruto commented." How does this Mokuton thing work again?"

Sarada nodded." Well, it's quite simple, I read about that in a book and the Mokuton works By sending chakra into the ground, the roots of the plants are converted into raw materials. This technique allows for a building to be constructed, by forcing accelerated growth. The size and shape of the building are taken from the user's imagination or memories." " She explained.

"Wow, talk about a natural conversion." Boruto commented as he continued to observed the huge wooden house.

Sarada continued." And by placing tags around the house, the user creates a barrier, making it impossible for the enemy to detect it and allowing the user to "camp" in peace." She said.

"Well, better than having those CCTV's back home." Boruto commented." If only this house has "WIFI" then we could really camp in peace dattebassa."

Sarada just sighed." Oh come one Boruto, We're twenty something years in the past, the Shinobinet or Social media doesn't exist yet." She explained. As much she wanted to have her timeline's treasure, she didn't have any choice but to live without it.

"Hey at least, you got the smarthphone, maybe we can watch your saved movies or whatever is inside that memory storage." Boruto pointed out. At least they can enjoy for awhile.

Sarada sighed yet again." Suits yourself." She said as she took out her smartphone, which really didn't belong or supposed to exist in this time, and handed it to her teammate.

Boruto immediately grabbed the smartphone and started to take a photos of the large two storey wooden house.

"Well, might as well save this into the memory box." He grinned.

Sarada was just shaking her head, but still she couldn't stop the millenial side from coming out from him. There were things from the future that still remained with them.

* * *

 **(LATER ON)**

"This totally awesome Dattebayo!"

Sounds of praises and amazement were heard inside the huge two storey wooden house. It was none other than the blonde knucklehead himself, Naruto Uzumaki, who felt as if he was seeing the best thing that he had seen, even though it was just a big house made of wood.

"I wonder which room will I be in?" Naruto wondered. He was just all over the place like a little kid.

The excitement was really there and the others could only stand there and watch him explore the place like a happy go lucky kid. Sakura was just sighing and shaking her head off even though, she was already used to the blonde for a long time. Sai didn't bother to care, while Boruto and Sarada were amused to see the future seventh Hokage like that.

"And I wonder what the rooms will looked like?"

It was all full of expectations and hopes for everyone to have their own room. Although, all of those was single handledly shut down by Yamato himself, who told the rest of the group that all of them will be staying in one room since the huge two storey house only had one room to begin with.

As for Boruto and Sarada, they took the time to explore the place for a bit and gave their own feedback of the house itself.

"Well, at least the house itself had a lobby which is cool for me. I always wanted a lobby for a house." Boruto commented while checking a sign that says "Welcome Team Yamato."

"The interior the design is top notched! I wonder why Yamato-sensei didn't took his career on being an architect or an interior designer, he's really creative when it comes to those." Sarada commented as she shared her feedback.

"That's what I call another mystery to solve, Sarada-chan hehe." Boruto joked while the raven haired girl just gave the blonde a looked and narrowed her eyes.

"Are you trying to test me knucklehead?" She asked, while placing her hands on her hips and narrowing her eyes at her teammate.

Boruto just gave an Uzumaki grin in response as he then tapped the girl on the shoulder and headed for upstairs, where the others had finally settled.

"Last one to reach the room will sleep without a blanket hehe." The blonde mischeviously said while heading upstairs.

As for Sarada she took a few moments just to stare dumbfoundedly at the blonde before realizing on what is happening.

"What the heck Boruto, you knucklehead!"

* * *

 **(BRIEF MEETING)**

Settling down was always the easiest part for the rest of the team. Naruto was the first one to settle down. With his trusty back pack he immediately laid down on his spot which was coincidentally beside Sai's spot, who was unpacking his things.

Once the blonde laid his sight on the black haired teen, he gave an annoyed face and immediately scrammed off from his former spot to where Boruto's spot was located. Sakura was a witness and just sighed all the way. She was right that the guys were still bitter towards each other.

Boruto, on the other hand, was busy organizing his things and his sleeping bag when he noticed his young dad heading towards his area." Yo Naruto what's up!" He greeted.

Naruto grinned as he placed his backpack on the wooden floor." Mind if I take this spot?" He asked.

Boruto simply nodded. "Sure man, what's the fuss all about?" He asked while his young dad just beckoned him to looked at Sai.

"Oh I see." Boruto said." I guess the rivalry is still there?"

Naruto just smirked as the blonde fully relaxed himself on the wooden floor with his back pack acting as a pillow for his head.

Boruto secretly sighed and shook his head. He really had no choice but to see this teen version of his old man. The Uzumaki pride was up there and he didn't have the power to handle it yet, he's just gonna have to go with the flow.

Meanwhile, Sarada who had finished preparing her sleeping bag was currently at the pink haired girl's area. As promised, the raven haired Uchiha had went over to her young mom to check to see if she was okay and to also start a conversation with her.

"So I heard from Naruto that you were having those headaches again." Sarada asked, giving a concerned face.

Sakura, who was still unpacking her things gave a smile." 'Thank you for your concern Sarada, but I'm alright now." She said.

"Oh, great to hear that." Sarada said." I guess you're pretty much exhausted during the journey." She said.

Sakura gave slight chuckle." Yeah I know, all that walking really gave me the headache of my life." She said while her raven haired counterpart smiled.

"By the way though, may I asked about those headaches?" Sarada said.

"Sure, what about it?" Sakura said, raising both of her eyebrows.

"Well, when and how did the headaches started?" She asked.

For a few moments, Sakura stayed in silence, she was trying to recall on when did the headaches started ravaging her head. The only thing that she can recall was that headaches started appearing not too long ago, when she began to have strange dreams of a pink haired woman and a raven haired man that she wasn't able to recognized. It was just a mystery to her that certain scenes from what appeared to be coming from another life, began flashing in her dreams.

When she did told the raven haired teen about it, it only gave more questions rather than answers. It made the mystery more deep to solve.

By this time, Yamato's voice had interrupted the conversation as he suddenly called the rest of the team to gather in the middle to have the meeting started.

* * *

 **(LATER ON)**

It was often an unofficial tradition for a team meeting to be held. Once the rest had settled down. Yamato had everyone gathered as soon as possible to discuss their plan for tomorrow. They needed all the time they have to carefully set up. It started with Yamato asking the pink haired kunouichi for more intel about the spy that was supposed to meet Sasori at the bridge.

"I really wanted to ask about him sooner." Yamato said." But, I promised yesterday that I wouldn't talked about "work".

"I think now is the time to tell me everything on what you know about Sasori." Yamato added."

"I have a file from the sand village about Sasori but I need to know his mannerism, the way he speaks, his attidude and character." Yamato said." I wanted to make sure that the spy won't get suspicious and be convinced."

"Since, you're the one that has met and seen him after all." He added.

Sakura simply nodded." Yes sensei." She said.

As the plan was taking shape and form, the two rookies were listening from behind, Sarada actually wanted to share some of her ideas for the team plan but was held back by her blonde teammate, who told her to observed and dissect the plan carefully. The goal was for Yamato to be disguised as Sasori, and during the meeting with the spy, he will try to gather intel on the exact whereabouts of Sasuke Uchiha.

"Remember, This plan is just a remote possibility." Yamato said." You three will wait for my signal, if anything goes wrong then we go to the next plan which you three will come out from your hiding spots and proceed to the bridge." He explained.

"Yes, Sensei." The rest of the team agreed in unison.

The atmosphere in the room slowly became serious. Everybody had a feeling that they were in for a chaotic fest tomorrow. Yamato also told everyone that the other purpose of this mission was to also capture the target as well.

"Since, this will be a delicate mission from now on, then I will be make the first move." The Captain of the team added. He knew the limits. "If the second plan comes into play, the three of you will follow the buddy system."

Naruto raised both eyebrows in confusion." Buddy system?" He said." Oh you mean that system!? Of course, I remember it Dattebayo!" He gave a chuckle while scratching his head while Sakura can be seen sighing off.

"Naruto and Sai will team up and be stationed at their areas, while Sakura will be near the area to further monitor the events." Yamato added, ignoring the blonde's laughs.

Naruto, of course, was not surprised but however disappointed. He didn't want anything to do with the black haired teen, although he had no choice but to agree and cooperate before narrowing his eyes at the teen.

When Yamato finished talking to the main trio, he then turned his attention to the two rookies who were just carefully listening to the conversation.

"As for Boruto and Sarada, I have to apologized but, you two will not be involved in the main mission, it will be just too dangerous." Yamato said, much to the surprised of the two rookies. He then continued." However, you two will be assigned to scout the area tomorrow to check if the coasts are clear, understood?"

"Yes, sensei!" Both of the rookies agreed. They already expected that to happened that way. The only thing that they can do now is wait.

Yamato simply nodded." Alright, now that we have discussed all the topics, you all can have your rest."

* * *

 **(WONDERING)**

Night time had arrived once again. The moon shined brighter than ever while the cold wind swept through the trees of the forest. A certain teenage blonde stood on the grassy grounds of the small open field, accompan him, was his one and only raven haired teammate.

"I really can't believed we're benched again." Boruto commented. He was not disappointed nor frustrated, but amused and bewildered to know that they were put into the sidelines again.

Sarada sighed at her teammate." Well, just to let you remember Boruto, but we were in fact assigned as observers by granny Tsunade to begin with." She explained.

"Yeah I know that, I was just wondering if we're really gonna stay being observers forever." Boruto replied, with a little bit of quietness followed after.

Sarada was about to say something when her teammate continued to speak.

"But then again, I kinda like being an observer." Boruto added." It's like giving you a a motivation to prove and a unique adventure from a different perspective." He explained. He mean't that in a position like this, one can focus on the other things and explore more.

"A different perspective?" Sarada asked." You mean't by focusing and finding out more about the mysteries and such." She clarified, with one eyebrow raised.

"Well, something like that, since old granny Miyuki told us about this worlds that no one has been before, I would really like to try and go this worlds for a change." Boruto grinned, a little excitement covering his face.

"Well, I'm not really sure about that, but wherever you go, me and Himawari will always be there to support you." Sarada said as she gave a smile.

A small playful smile formed around the blonde's lips." Even if it mean't by going to the Pure Land as well?" He said.

Sarada's eyes instantly widened in shocked." Pure Land? You don't mean by-?" She was about to finish her sentence when she was cut her teammate who bursted out laughing.

"Oh come Sarada-chan! I really didn't mean't going there by literally dying." Boruto said." What I mean't is that Old granny Miyuki will somehow take us there for a field trip or something." The blonde explained. He really didn't want literally die and go there, He was too young.

Sarada gave a sighed." You had me worried there for a second." She thought to herself. She really didn't like the sound of that even though it was just a joke.

There was a little silence that followed, before Boruto spoke again.

"You know, I'm starting to see on how Kami really cared for the world." He said as he turned his attention to the beautiful night sky, which surprisingly has something unique at the moment.

Around the beautiful night sky, the stars glittered in its glory and along with the moon, a majestic aurora began to appear. The aurora itself glowed with peace and hope to anyone who would see it right at the moment.

Sarada also turned her attention to the night sky and gazed at the aurora. It felt as if Kami was really there to listen. The raven haired teen had been wanting to pray or talk to Kami if she really had the chance. She was more of a logical person, but at times, she would eagerly go to her spiritual life and try to raised her faith up.

If she really had the chance to talk to Kami, then she would thanked him for protecting them throughout the hard times that they've been through.

Her only wished for now is for this mission to go well and finally save her young Papa.

As for Boruto, he turned to his teammate and noticed that were tears slowly falling from her eyes. The blonde sighed but smiled as he went up to the raven haired girl and comforted her.

He placed a hand on her shoulder to get her attention, once he met her eyes, he then drew out a handkerchief from her pocket and gently removed her glasses.

Sarada just stared at him, while Boruto wiped the remaining tears away from her eyes. As moments passed by, the heaviness faded away, a small smile formed around her lips.

"Thank you Bolt." She whispered

Boruto simply nodded and smiled." Don't worry, we're going to get through all this, no matter what." He assured the girl that everything was going to be alright.

It was yet another good ending to an exhausting day. Both of them knew that they had a little short time of rest and this maybe the last stop for them before entering the storm itself tomorrow.

It was also decided that enjoying and gazing at the night sky was a much better thing to do right now.

* * *

 **(A GATHERING)**

"Looks like nothing has change since I've been away."

Amongst the vast forest and an unknown mountain location. A male human figure can be seen standing on that very mountain top, He wore a white robe along with a hood which concealed his face. He stood there for the meantime while expecting their arrival.

He stared at the vast land overseeing the different villages including that of Konoha. It was just a matter of time before the plan will be implemented and executed. After all, everybody in the organization deserved the credit for contributing and volunteering. They all seemed to be committed than ever.

It was like something that he would call as working together for the first time since?. Even though many of them had different personal goals to achieved since joining, they were altogether on fulfilling the dream that would trample all dreams.

The wind continued to grow stronger and all of a sudden, he felt a number of presence from behind and it only mean't one thing that the others had finally arrived.

In a blinked of an eye, a group of people appeared in front of him wearing the same white hooded clothing that he had. These people appeared in different physical aspects. Some were tall and some were short but all of them had different personalities to begin with.

There were about nine members as expected and they were all present.

The main leader of the group then observed the other members as they began to speak.

The first voice from the group was then heard. A voice coming from an young adult girl.

"You know, before this, I landed on a messed up pig farm!" She said, with sassiness and annoyance in her tone of voice. The memory was still fresh in her mind.

A second voice then followed. A voice coming from a young man and it was just beside her.

"Hmmm, Why do I feel like I'm going to laugh at any moment?" He said, with a cool moronic tone of voice.

"Geez, says the guy who barely doesn't do anything much." The first voice sarcastically replied, pointing at him. She really didn't like his laid back attitude.

"Hey, you know it's a rude way to point at people!" The second voice exclaimed, while there was no response from the first voice that followed.

"Quiet please!" The main leader calmly said, as the rest of the members stood straight and prepared to report.

"Everything is going as a plan, all we need to do is just to closely monitor the events unfolding." One of the members in the group spoke. A voice of a man said.

"Good." The main leader said.

One by one each of the members started reporting, giving their updates and situations of the events. Their task was to monitor specific groups of people or individuals at hand. They have to make sure these events happened as manipulated. One such event was Kazekage's capture and extraction of the one tailed beast, Shukaku which was sucessful. Although, one has to make sure that the other small details such as people that were supposed to die, must die.

Although, a member, who was assigned to monitor the event, had something different to say in her report. She reported that there were these unknown trio of teenagers, that were part of the rescue team sent to rescue and retrieved the Kazekage back and these three individuals, at least one of them, somehow managed to saved a life that was supposed or mean't to be taken.

"And what about these three newcomers?" The main leader asked. He was surprised and hadn't expected that there were three new individuals added on the event.

"I'm not really sure, but it will take another investigation to find out more about them." She explained.

The main leader nodded in understanding." But have you kept tracked on them?" He asked.

"Yes, and looks like two of the three, are part of the mission regarding the Uchiha boy." She added.

"Alright then, thank you for informing." The main leader said as he then turned his attention towards the rest.

"For the meantime, you will return back to your respective assigned tasks and wait for any new orders to be announced." He explained. He was dubbed the second in command. He was just following orders and instructions.

"Excuse me, but if may I asked. What about the three main leaders of the Akatsuki?" One of the member's asked. He was referring to the blue haired woman, The red haired Uzumaki and lastly the masked man member of the group. Those three were the toughest ones to closely monitor.

There was silence for a brief moment until the leader spoke.

"Don't worry I will be the one to handle them in the future." He replied." But for now, all of you stick to the plan." He paused.

"And now will that said and done, You are all dismissed. You may go and perform your assigned task." He instructed.

When he finished his briefing. one by one, the rest immediately disappeared in a blinked of an eye. Only two remained in the scene, the leader in command of the group, and the young hooded woman.

"You've been really busy lately." She said as she slowly walked up towards him, while the young man just kept silent.

"Are things been too much for you?" She added, although there was still no response from the other.

There was a brief moment of quietness that followed before the young woman spoke again.

"So how is she? Are you planning to visit her? " She asked. She gave a little concern.

The young man formed a small smile underneath his hood." Don't worry, I know she's alright." He finally replied. It's been a long time since he had seen his little sister, who has probably grown up since he last saw her years ago.

With that, He returned and gazed back at the night sky, followed by moving his eyes onto a specific location where a familiar bridge can be seen up ahead.

"Looks like there's going to be a lot of work to do."

 **(CHAPTER END)**

* * *

 **AN: Thank you for reading the chapter :)**


	53. Arc 3 Phase 2: A Little Adventure

**I don't own Naruto. Kishimoto Does.**

 **Author's note: Hey there Readers!, Looks like we've finally entered Arc 3! I Hope you guys enjoy! I would also like to thank you guys for the Reviews. Favorites, and follows :) Thank you for also sharing your tips and thoughts for the story.**

 **Take note: This chapter is a continuation of Chapter 17. The next chapter will focus more on the Tenchi bridge Incident. This also has to be the longest chapter I've written so far and I tried to experiment a little in the chapter and put some of the ideas that I had in mind.**

 **Expect some grammar and spelling mistakes along the way.**

 **Thank you for Understanding :)**

* * *

 **Arc 3: Phase 2**

 **Chapter 19: Little Adventures**

It really had to be most shocking and awkward situation that the Uzumaki teen had been into. She hadn't thought of this or expected for this moment to happened and it was really happening in front of her eyes. With one single move, she looked up and saw the person, who probably had the most impact in her life.

"My name is Hinata." The phrase really strucked through her heart and mind. The familiarity of the voice, it was indeed belong to her mom but younger.

Right in the midst of a noisy and lively public market stood a beautiful lavender haired teen, a bit older than the Uzumaki girl herself. She had that smile which can lit up the mood of every person and it indeed made a strong effect on Himawari herself.

The Uzumaki girl was left frozen, her mind was going all over places, her emotions racking up as she didn't knew whether to cry, laughed, be happy or just be confused. It was all going to the mixer at this point and producing different results.

As for Hinata, She was kind of confused as the teenage girl just stood there with a face that she would described somewhere between the lines of "Shocked" and "Amazed". This was the also the first time that she had met this girl and she felt as if she had seen her somewhere before.

After a few moments of meddling with her thoughts, Himawari was able to summoned the confidence thus she opened her mouth and began to say her first words since being in a frozen state." Uhmm, I-It's r-really nice to meet you, Mo-Hinata, Hehe" The Uzumaki girl said, as she gave giving a nervous chuckle, while slightly waving her hand.

"And I thought I was the only one good at stuttering." Hinata thought to herself. It somehow felt as if she was looking at a mirror and talking to herself.

"It's good to meet you Himawari" Hinata replied, as she offered her hand as a sign of a new friendship being established and considering her sudden newfound confidence that she was able to make friends.

As for the Uzumaki girl, she was a bit nervous at first, but something just gave her the confidence to push herself and act as she stretched out and shook hands with her young mom. She had to admit that it was kind of weird making friends with her.

"This is really weird." Himawari thought to herself. She can feel awkardness around the atmosphere right at the moment and in the midst of all these busy ongoings, a plan was being made to escape her current situation.

It was like she was thrown into an ambush in disguised, the moment really caught her off guard, and she was forcibly stucked in this situation, which she never expected in the first place.

"So I guess you are picking up ingredients is it?" Hinata asked, as she immediately noticed the plastic bag containing the other ingredients that she had bought.

Himawari simply nodded." Uhmm, yes, the vegetable section is actually my last stop before I go back to the apartment." She said, as she then instinctively continued to her goal of picking up the vegetables that she needed to complete her recipe.

"Oh I see." Hinata said. She was being observant this time, watching the teenage girl, who was choosing and picking up the right quality veggies." Looks like she knows her veggies." She then thought to herself.

For a teenager like her, Hinata was amazed on how this girl was doing right now. She can sense the responsibilty in her right away. Although, putting that aside, question slipped into her mind, processing it, and sending it to her mouth.

As for Himawari, she had just finished buying the vegetables that she needed before being called by her young mom once again.

"Uhmm, Correct me if I'm wrong but you said that you lived in an apartment?" Hinata asked.

Himawari was a bit surprised by the question, but she just sighed and chose to answer her question." Yup, and we're new and just moved into the village, by the way." She said. She would then go on to explained that she lived in an apartment with her big brother and sister for the past months since they moved here.

That her big brother and sister were just accepted as rookies in the world of Shinobi and were currently on a mission right now thus she was the only one left alone for awhile.

"Oh." Hinata simply nodded in understanding. She was surprised hear and learned that a young teenage girl like her is all living alone in an apartment and that really bothers her in a strange way.

Himawari just smiled all the way as she continued to explain." It's alright, I'm kinda getting the hang to it if you know what I mean." She said, as the opportunity finally came into her the next moment." By the way, I really need to get going, I guess I'll see you around?"

It was finally the moment that Himawari was waiting for, she was going to be finally out of this awkwardness and all she had to was just simply walked away with a farewell smile. Although, fate has something in store for her once again.

Right after she said that she was going home, something unexpected suddenly interrupted in the form of roaring sound from her stomach.

 ** _(Stomach growls in hunger)_**

As if the world was finally ending, Himawari gave a little cringe, she soon placed her hand on her stomach area and gave it a little squish in hopes of stopping it's demands. However, it won't stop and still continued its whining.

The Uzumaki girl just sighed and gave a nervous grin." Uhmmm, I'm really sorry about that, I haven't ate that much this morning hehe." Himawari explained, as she now was scratching the back of her head.

There was a moment of silence that took over before the Hyuuga Heiress gave a little chuckle and then smiled." Oh I see, then how about we go eat first, I knew a good place where you can fill up an empty stomach." Hinata explained as she offered her help.

As for Himawari, she could only nod and gave a smile. There was really no other choice besides the fact that she was going to eat breakfast with her young teenage mom, and that she was gonna get to know her more.

Hinata had no problem of helping to those in need, especially a girl that almost looks exactly like her but with shorter hair. She recalled her little sister and cousin talking about a certain girl that they were gonna introduced to her recently, and she had a feeling that this teenage girl in front of her was the one.

She then gave a smile and said."

"Don't worry, It's my treat."

* * *

 **(CLASSROOM)**

Konohamaru groaned as he gave his best to stay awake yet again. Another battle between him and sleepiness began in the midst of a class lecture. His eyes kept shutting down as his consciousness was fading away at the same time. It was only a matter of time before he finds himself snoring already.

Another thing is that he was seated in the front beside his one of his peers, who were also in the same situation as him. So it was like a race on who was gonna fall asleep first. The only good thing was that no one was noticing them, even Iruka, who was doing his lecture, thought that they were focusing on the lesson because their eyes were big and intense.

Although, in a short period of time, the good thing began to slide down to the bad case scenario. Everyone was losing their battle to their own sleepiness and in a matter of moments, they were in the brink of dropping their heads on their own tables, when an unexpected saviour came to the rescue.

"Oh come on, I gave all my effort for this thing." Konohamaru commented before he finally entered his sleeping state.

Kurama was a witness and just beside the boy when all of this was happening. He had apparently been observing the rest of the boys for quite sometime now before finally deciding that it was enough and he had to do something before everything goes haywire.

So without wasting anytime, the cute nine tailed fox raised his cute hand-like paws aimed towards the boy's lap. In his mind, the fox started a countdown from number's one to three and after the countdown ended, he finally performed his move by slamming his hand on the boy's lap as hard as any former juubi can.

Konohamaru's eyes widened and his consciousness sprung back up. He felt a little bit of pain as if someone had used a very hot pan and placed it on his lap. He finally gave a yell as a sign that he had fully woken up.

"Man, that hurt!"

The boy exclaimed, waking up the rest of his seatmates from their slumber. He also garnered the rest of everybody's attention including, Iruka himself, who was having a drink from his water bottle and suddenly spitting it out as he was suddenly startled by the boy's exclamation.

The rest of the class turned their eyes towards Konohamaru before bursting out of laughter not to insult of him but because it was just a natural funny chain reaction to see someone yell causing the other person to spit his water out.

Konohamaru didn't said a word as he just stayed quiet amidts of the loud laughters. He then instinctively darted his towards Kurama, who was just beside him, to know if he had something to do this.

Kurama just gave an apologetic smile and a peace sign." **Sorry Kit."** He whispered. He really had no choice but do it and it was for the best actually.

Konohamaru just gave the fox a small smirked and sighed. He was beginning to understand that he had saved his life somehow and a detention too.

"Thanks Furball."

* * *

 **(LATER ON)**

 **Location: Football Field**

It was always the usual stuff for Konohamaru to be hanging out around the field. Specifically, the boy was not on the field itself but at sidelines where a lone tree was located. The tree itself served as a natural shade and protection for the boy from the heating rising sun.

It had been awhile since the sleeping incident that almost led him to detention. If it wasn't for Kurama, he wouldn't be here right now. When the food break began, the boy headed straight for the fields as it was perfect hangout because of the fresh air and atmosphere. Now, he found himself resting on the lone tree while eating his snack, which was revealed to be a tuna omelette sandwhich, along with pineapple juice contained in a small carton.

It was just quite snack break all throughout, this was often part of the routine almost everyday for the boy. In fact, He didn't knew most of his other classmates, since he was ahead of them. The boy was already a Genin and taking part in missions, although, he had to return back to the Academy to catch up with a few subjects that he wasn't able to take before he graduated. The Academy stint was alright for him, he was playing for the soccer team and established a few but important frienships with the other kids such as Kenta.

Konohamaru gave a little chuckle, he immediately remembered the incident that happened just awhile ago back in the classroom. It kind of reminded him on what he used to do not too long ago and now that he's a certified Genin, he really had to let go of his previous antics from the past.

 **"Hey are you alright Kit**?" A familiar voice asked.

Kurama rested under the shade of the tree and was also beside the boy. He was on the verge of taking a short nap when he heard chuckles coming from the boy which broke the flow.

The boy turned towards him and responded with small smile." Yeah, I'm fine, I just really can't believed I made Iruka-sensei spit out his drink." He said.

Kurama gave a little chuckle." **Well, I really had no choice Kit, that's what I did to save you from being in detention again."** He said.

"I guess you're right, maybe I'm not the only one who was sleeping at that time." Konohamaru said. He was referring to his seat mates, who were beside him.

Kurama just gave a smile, he actually felt good helping someone even though it ended in a comical way. For a thousand year old fox like him, he didn't quite have that sharp memory to remember the things that had change, but there were changes that he specifically took notice for the passed days.

The first thing was that everybody wasn't bothering about a small nine-tailed fox roaming the academy grounds. Second, they were more into the cuteness and where there's ever a chance, they would often cuddle or play with him. Third, they have somehow not realize that he looked exactly similar to the big bad fox that attacked the village not too long ago.

Those three mysteries continued to baffled his mind until to this very day. Although, putting that aside, he was glad to have this chance to lived a normal life once more.

"Hey, Kurama?" The voice of Konohamaru was then heard calling him.

" **Yes Kit?** " He then turned his attention towards the boy.

"Have you ever thought of your family?" He asked.

Kurama raised an eyebrow in confusion." **What do you mean by Family?"** He asked.

"Well, Do you missed them?" Konohamaru simply said.

There was a brief moment of silence that took over. Kurama didn't expect a question to come out from the boy's mouth like that. Why would he asked such a question?

" **Uhmm, I'm not really sure how to say this but yes, I really do miss them."** He said." **Why do you asked?** "

Konohamaru just shrugged." It's just came into me, It's not that really important actually." He explained." I just wanted to know if you have the chance to see them again, would you take that chance?"

Kurama sighed, the memories started to flashed before his eyes. The Kit and family, they were the ones that really gave him a sense of belonging or basically gave him the peaceful live that he always wanted.

He fondly remembered the Uzumaki girl, who would often play with him.

 **"Why not? I would definitely take that chance**." Kurama said." **Is it because you're always wondering if you would ever them again?"**

Konohamaru gave a chuckle." I actually don't know, But if I ever had the chance to see them again, I guess..." He trailed off along the way. The boy wasn't really sure on how to react if given the opportunity.

"I guess, I will just act casually like any person will do." He said and finished his sentence.

 **"I know that feeling Kit, just relax okay?"** Kurama said as began to chuckle.

Konohamaru gave a confused face." Uhmm, what's so funny?" He asked.

Kurama just continued to chuckle. The boy was similar to Naruto in many ways and he was beginning to realized that he was given this second chance to re established a connection with a kit like him in the form of Konohamaru. Although, this time he was going to be extra careful and not be the harsh person that he was before.

" **Nah, It's nothing Kit, It's just that I have this friend, who's in the same situation, and he kinda reminds me of you."** Kurama explained.

"Really? I hope your friend is living a happy life." Konohamaru said. He could only wished the best for any person, who's in the same situation as him.

" **Yeah, I hope so**." Kurama added. He was now thinking about the Kit, He really hope that kit had found peace somewhere above the clouds.

As he was about to continue his words, the boy beat him to it.

"By the way, there's going to be a festival held today, You wanna go check it out later on?"

Kurama just stared at the boy for a few moments before finally opening his mouth.

" **A festival?"**

* * *

 **(BREAKFAST TALK)**

"This is the best thing ever!"

It was quite lively morning at Ichiraku's as customers were flocking the place. The new breakfast menu turned out to be hit hence why there was a growing line in of customers in the first place. When Himawari and Hinata arrived at the place, they were very much lucky that there two seats vacant and wasted no time on taking those seats right away.

It was like fate had plans for the Uzumaki girl today, as if everything was just scripted and that she was mean't to bumped into her young mother. This was an experience that she had never been into before but as of right now, she can managed the awkwardness for a little bit. She was justn't used to talking to her mom as a friend.

The Uzumaki girl sat in her seat and in front of the Hyuuga heiress, who was enjoying her breakfast which turned out to be none other than the famous Ichiraku Ramen and Akamaru was just beside them and resting.

Himawari continued to observed her young mother, who was enjoying her food at the moment, memories started to flood her mind as she immediately recalled a memory of her mom joining a ramen eating contest and devouring those ramen in a short period of time. It was just really unbelievable to say.

"Himawari." A voice then called her name as the Uzumaki girl snapped back from her thoughts. She then turned her attention to her young mom who was looking at her.

"So have you been into Ichiraku's before?" Hinata asked, while taking a sip of her Ramen soup.

"Oh." Himawari blinked a couple of times before shaking her head off." Uhmmm, yeah, I've been here a lot of times." She replied.

"That's great to hear!" Hinata smiled." I have a friend who often eats at this place, so that's how I come to like Ramen for a little bit." She said with s chuckle.

Himawari gave a small smile. She somehow knew that certain friend, whom her young mother, was referring to." I think that's great! then I guess I have a big brother that works here." She added.

"Really?" Hinata's eyes widened as she gave a look of surprised.

Himawari simply nodded." Yup, but my big brother's not right here, He's on a mission with his friend as of now." She explained.

Hinata took a couple of times to think about it, then she recalled what the girl explained to her before." Oh right, I kind of forgot about that, I guess they're assigned as observers on an official team am I correct?" She said while the other simply nodded.

The conversation continued as Himawari began to go with the flow, there was a moment when she thought it was her young mom that she was talking too but another person." Yeah, I was also assigned with them on the team as well during the first mission." She explained.

"I really thought it was going to be easy at first but seeing dad like that was kind of difficult." She added, and then took a paused.

Hinata was a bit confused." Uhmmmm, what do you mean by dad?" She asked.

It was at this moment when Himawari widened her eyes in surprised. She just realized on what she has said just now and she immediately took action for that." Uhmm, what I mean't is being in a team and seeing how the process works is kind of difficult for first timers like me." She said.

The awkwardness immediately disappeared.

"Oh I see." Hinata smiled. What the girl was saying was true but there was one question that came into her mind." May I asked if you guys went to the academy?. She said woud go on to explained that a person to has to go to academy and then get assigned to a team in order for to be a Shinobi.

Himawari simply nodded. She understood that questions like this would eventually come to her again. It was a good thing that she always had a back up plan." Oh right, I forgot to tell about the rest of the story." She grinned while scratching the back of her head.

So the girl began to tell her story from front to back.

* * *

 **(Himawari's Interview)**

 ** _"I just went with the flow, like a normal conversation between two people. I did tell my young mom the most logical thing about my background. I told her that I was not from Konoha and originally came from a small village and me, my big brother and friend had recently moved in here._**

 ** _For the being a Shinobi part, I told her that we were actually Shinobi from that small unknown village and we were able to pass a special examination test thus we became rookies."_**

 ** _And the rest is history_."**

* * *

Hinata was intrigued by the girl's story. To be able to held on her own, this girl was an independent one and there was this feeling of proudness that she mysteriously was having right now and she could only smile at the girl.

"By the way, what are those white patches for?" She asked.

Himawari then moved her eyes for awhile to focus on the white patches which was covering her cheeks, then turning towards Hinata with a smile." Well, I sort of got into an accident while training, but don't worry, I'm alright." She said with a grin.

"Oh I see." Hinata said, while the other girl smiled.

The conversation continued towards the end of their meal. Himawari wasn't expecting the awkwardness to fade away that fast, but she was glad to be placed in a new comfort zone and that she was actually establishing a relationship with her young mom. The conversation was light hearted, with the two girls trading funny stories and laughing it out together.

It was also at this moment when Hinata brought up the festival that was going to be held today." By the Himawari, there's going to be a festival this noon, Is it okay, if you wanna join us with the rest of the family." She said.

Himawari exactly knew on who's family she was referring to." Well, I'm okay with that, but I have to go back to the apartment to organized this things." She explained while lifting up the groceries that she has bought.

Hinata nodded in understanding." It's alright, we'll be waiting." She said.

"Thanks!" Himawari nodded and smiled.

"Looks like I'll be meeting the rest of family this time."

* * *

 **(THE FESTIVAL)**

It was something she hasn't done before or maybe she has done before.

Doing a small favor for a certain friend, Miyuki stood on the counters of a booth, entertaining customers in the midst of a busy but fun day at the festival, which began exactly at noon. The small booth that she was taking care was a game booth, where you can used this projectile weapon to shoot a moving balloon to get the desired items. In order words, a plastic gun.

It was not exactly in her job description or expertise, but she was already used into handling different kinds of personalities much like what was happening right now.

" _Alright fellas, 50 ryos for two attempts!"_

 _"Hey you over there, no cutting lines please?"_

 _"Kids! please settle down, you'll eventually get your turn."_

 _"Thank you very much for participating!"_

What a great job indeed, Miyuki never felt so exhausted and drained in her entire existence. This was much harder than being doctor or working with the council than she has ever thought. Aside from being occasionally mistaken for a young girl, she was glad that she was able to finished half of the stage and finally entered break time.

As the day continued on Miyuki sat on her chair as she took her break and ate her lunch on a tupperware box which contained, meatloaf omellete rice and three pieces of Takoyaki covered by its signature delicious sauce. If anyone was wondering on why a person like her from the Pure Land, is eating normal food, well you can hear it from her.

* * *

 **Interview:**

" _ **Everybody's gotta eat to fill up their stomachs, if you know what I mean. The Pure Land is not a place of immortality, a little bit of biological physics exist there and of course, food definitely exist there. (Gives a little chuckle)**_

 _ **I really don't mean to break the fourth wall but, you gotta watch movies like "Spirited Away" to see what I'm talking about." -Miyuki**_

* * *

 **(A SURPRISE)**

As the day continued on, the young woman found herself entering the second half of the day. For a small game booth like this, more customers continue to flocked booth and the more she gave her effort to converse and entertain them. Around this time, there were a handful of individuals or persons that she was able to encounter during the festivity.

"Ms. Miyuki!"

A very familiar voice of a girl called her name. Miyuki, who had finished assisting the last of the customers, turned her attention to the source of the voice.

She widened her eyes in surprised when she saw a teenage short haired lavender haired girl, who was heading straight to the booth. "Himawari?" She said.

"It's been a quite sometime!" Himawari greeted her with a warm smile." How are you doing so far?"

Miyuki sighed but chuckled." I guess a couple of days is long enough" She thought to herself.

"I'm alright, just doing little part time job here if you may asked." She said while cleaning up the remains of the balloons that had been popped up.

Himawari widened her eyes in surprised." Oh I see, and you really got a pretty big customer following." She commented.

"Unfortunately yes, I'm actually stuck here for the whole day and I'm just doing this for small friendly favour." Miyuki replied. She would then go on to explained that she had this friend, who wasn't able to attend and managed the booth all day because of other things, thus she volunteered since it was her day off.

Himawari continued to smile." Well, I think doing a small favour for friendship is kinda cool." She said." Trust me, It will really result into the goodest of things." She added.

A smile formed around Miyuki's lips, she can really see the light and positiveness from the girl herself. It was somehow a mystery to her that she can't even sensed any darkness or whatsoever and she was glad to have met the girl. Now, she was beginning to slowly see the importance of a establishing and growing a friendship.

"Thank you Himawari." She said, while the other girl just grinned.

"So what brings you here by the way?" It was Miyuki's turn to asked the girl.

"Well, it's long story." Himawari could only sighed. She knew that it was going to be a very long day and letting a person know on what she was gonna do might take off the pressure a little." Let's just say that I unexpectedly bumped into my teenage mom this morning and now I'm invited to join the rest of the family stuff for today." She explained, with a little bit of nervousness.

Miyuki blinked a couple of times before finally speaking." I think that's great!" She said as she then raised an eyebrow of concern to ask a question." And why are you so nervous about?"

"Uhmm, just a little nervous because-" Himawari was about to finish her sentence when a voice called her from behind.

"Hima!" The familiar voice said.

Himawari then turned around to see a certain long lavender haired teen, which was revealed to be none other than her mom from few distances away, who was waving at her. The Uzumaki girl then turned back to older girl, giving her a nervous smile.

"Now I understand." Miyuki sighed, she understood the fact that the kid was going to hang out with her own mother, who is practically the same age as her and she knew how awkward it would be for the kid.

"Hey listen to me Himawari." Miyuki then gave a straight but calmed face, which made the girl really listened like a soldier. "You don't have to be nervous about it, I know you can do it." She ended her statement with a small smile." Because you're strong girl."

It was those simple words that gave the girl a boost of confidence. Himawari gave a grin and a nod as she thanked the older woman before heading off.

"Thanks for the encouraging words Ms. Miyuki!" Himawari said as she headed towards her young mom, who was still waiting for her.

Miyuki just gave a smile as she watched the girl head off to continue the family bonding, she was glad to have helped and give the girl confidence that she needed for this challenge.

* * *

 **(A MINI-** **ADVENTURE)**

It maybe the best thing that ever happened, at least for Konohamaru. Apparently, classes were dismissed earlier than expected due to other school events and now he found himself walking along the streets towards his destination, where the festivities were being held. Excitement was the only feeling that he was having, and wondering on what will be the awesome stuff that this festival will have.

Kurama didn't bother anything, he was just going with the flow whatever happens to him, as long as everything was alright, there weren't be any problems ahead. The small tailed beast walked alongside with the boy as they made their way to the festival, which was just a few blocks from their current place.

"Man, I'm so pumped up for this, I wonder what's in store for us there?" Konohamaru wondered aloud. He had all the free time today.

Kurama sighed." **Kit, if you asked me, I'll rather not wonder or think about it but as long as we stick stogether, I think everything will be just fine."** He said.

Konohamaru gave a chuckle." Of course! Ain't nobody gonna stop us from going there!" The boy exclaimed as they finally reached their destination.

It was at the same time when the boy finished his sentence that he focused his eyes towards his direction only to be greeted by a shocking site that he wouldn't have expected earlier. Kurama also had that same expression of surprised as right in front of them was the festival with a sea of people flowing at the said place.

It brought a lot of questions around on whether they should move forward with the plan.

"I guess I was wrong." Konohamaru muttered, wondering on what he would do next.

 **"I told ya kit**." Kurama said. He actually didn't like to be in very crowded places and he wanted to go home and take a rest, but what are the chances of them going home instead?

Konohamaru just smiled." Nah, this will be fine." The boy said, He really doesn't care about whether its crowded or not, as long as he was here to enjoy and have fun.

Kurama widened his eyes in surprised, he was about to speak up when the boy suddenly burst out from his position and headed towards the festival." Let's go furball!" He exclaimed, while giving a little run for it.

Kurama just stood there gaping as he just watched the boy enter the sea of people at the festival. The fox sighed and shook his head." **You've got to be kidding me**!"

The Babysitting is not over yet.

* * *

 **(MEANWHILE)**

It was probably the most coincidental thing that ever happen so far. For Hanabi and Neji, they always had planned for their future niece to finally meet Hinata in person and they were executing the plan today if weren't for an earlier meeting between two fates.

Hinata was smiling as ever as she introduced her newly met friend in the form of a certain lavender haired teen. She knew and felt that her cousin and little sister would really like the girl if they finally met her. Unbeknownst to her knowledge, these three had known each other for quite sometime already.

Himawari gave a sheepish chuckle and grinned as she waved her hands a little bit on her young Uncle and Aunt who were just confused and surprised as ever. Awkwardness was also present in the scene, as she was being introduced again to the two by her young mom.

It was also during this time that the Uzumaki girl finally had met a carefree Tenten and and an energetic Lee, who were very much glad to see her again since the previous mission.

"I'm really glad to see you again Himawari!"

"It's good to see you again Himawari-san! the Youth is still strong within you!"

Himawari could only smile as she happily greeted the two." It''s great to see you again!"

As for Neji and Hinabi, they could only looked at each other with amused and confused faces. Although, they were really glad that the two finally met each other somehow. They were eager to get to the bottom of this after the festivities of course.

* * *

 **(Hyuuga Cousins Interview)**

" _ **We were really surprised that my big sister had brought a certain person which turned out to be Himawari, and we were just speechless as ever and figuring out on how the two met each other - Hanabi (Then turned her eyes towards Neji)**_

 _ **"Well, if asked me, we've been planning this for quite sometime now and we thought that this day could be the perfect day for two to meet each other, although, things just naturally happen." - Neji**_

* * *

 **(FAMILY FRIENDLY BONDING)**

As the day continued, Himawari found herself in the midst of a bonding that she had never had before since being sent here. It was somehow unbelievable to think that her young Aunt, Uncle and her teenage mom, were with her all at the same time. It really felt like as if the family was all here except for Grandpa.

With Hanabi and Neji present, the Uzumaki girl was able to adjust her comfort zone and finally managed to interact properly without the awkwardness, especially towards Hinata. The Hyuuga cousins acted as guides, showing them around the festivities.

The friendship between the two started to take shape, Both girls were really hanging out like friends and none could be happier than Hanabi and Neji who were the overseers of their plan. They really worked hard on this. Speaking of working hard, the cousins also have to do a little bit of daring acts such as they also try to helped the girls from unexpected things such getting them into the front row of a customer line or chasing a bunch of mischevious kids who had nothing better to do other than disturb the peace.

In the end, it was all just the hard work dedication to established this beautiful friendship between the two girls. They were really the unofficial best Uncle and Aunts in the world if there were ever was one. High fiving each other was the only thing that two cousins could do right now with the thankful smile of Himawari.

* * *

 **(IN OTHER NEWS)**

Kurama really didn't like situations like this, He was scratching his head in annoyance and confusion as he looked around searching for the boy, who he has lost track off because of the chaotic atmosphere and the sea of people that continued to thrive at the festival.

 _ **"Where the heck he could be**_ **?"** He thought to himself.

He was currently on the sidelines of the festival a bit exhasuted and resting. He was also on the verge of the getting dizzy if he still pushed through his search. It was good thing that he stopped for awhile and focus on how he was gonna locate the boy.

It took him several minutes before coming up with an idea. Kurama gave a smirked as he turned his eyes upwards and observed the a random food stall, which had a tent that acted a cover from the bright sun. He then immediately made his move as he jumped and climb up towards the top and once he got to the top of the tent, he was rewarded with a good view of the festival and the sea of people flowing.

" **Alright Kit, where are you?"** Kurama muttered as he narrowed his eyes and searched for the boy again. This time he tapped in a little chakra to further boost his senses and in a few seconds time, he was able to sensed the boy's energy.

" **Gotcha!** " Kurama grinned as he immediately wasted no time and made his move and jumped from tent to tent towards the area where the boy was located.

* * *

 _ **(Interview)**_

 _ **"I try not to think about the situation as a stressful search, but I did treat it as some sort of small adventure which is probably cool by the way (Chuckles).**_

 _ **Although, there was a bit of a little unexpected accident that happened along the way." (Smiles and shakes head in embarrassment)**_

 _ **-Kurama**_

* * *

It was during this time that the fox himself was caught in an unexpected turn of events. As he was jumping from tent to tent, He found himself jumping on a rugged tent with a big hole on it and he unknowingly stepped on that hole and fell through and landed on an unlikely event.

 **"Stupid Hole!"** Kurama cringed and cursed for a bit as he slowly regained his senses after the accidental fall.

By the time he regained his senses, he was in for another surprised. Kurama's eyes widened in shocked as he found himself surrounded by a lot of furry cute animals specifically cats, which seemed to be running around and being chased by little kids in a wide box. He first thought it was cute but it wasn't.

At first, he was confused, he didn't knew what exactly was going on, until he noticed a large signage that was displayed and very much visible in front which read _ **" Catch your own Pet!"**_

There was a moment of silence for Kurama before realizing that everything was not as seemed to be and being the private and free person he is, he really didn't want to be caught as a pet by scary little children.

 _"Look it's a nine tailed fox!"_

 _"Hey! that one's mine!"_

 _"No, It's mine!"_

The voices and yells of the little children began to haunt Kurama's ears, as he immediately made his escape from this nightmare, but not without running around the area first, trying to confused the majority of the children who kept chasing him like the hungry zombies from World War Z. In addition, the parents were also there cheering for their children.

It took an annoyed Kurama a couple of minutes before finally taking notice of a way out in the form of a vacant gap amongst the crowd of parents. He immediately took that route and made boost it up a little, escaping the nightmare that he was temporarily placed into.

Kurama finally escaped the area and was on his way towards the area where the boy was located, after a few seconds of travelling, he finally reached his destination.

 **" _Looks like its him."_** He thought, as he finally got a good view of the boy, who was exploring the vicinity and heading to a certain stall.

Kurama wasted no time as he hurried his way towards the stall with goal of getting there first before the boy does.

* * *

 **(THE GAME BOOTH)**

Sneaking in was probably the most easiest thing that he could have done during this ordeal. It was just a simple sneak into a small ordinary game booth, which barely had no surprises or traps whatsoever. He described the booth as this small game booth where you shoot the balloons or items to get the prizes.

By the time Kurama entered the small booth, he was then greeted by the quiet atmosphere and a person, which appears to be a short haired little girl sitting on a chair and reading what appears to be a newspaper.

"Hmmm, that's weird, a little girl that reads newspapers, or maybe I'm just hallucinating." Kurama commented to himself. It was just really strange seeing a little girl doing things that most girls won't be doing.

Kurama then sighed, he realized that his thoughts were starting to overrun his mind and he needed to put that aside in order to focus on his goal, which was to get to the front counter of the booth, where he can finally meet the boy.

Without wasting anytime, he slowly and carefully made his way to his destination without the means of being caught and it was all going well for him until something unexpected happened. By the time, he was nearing the counter, a voice suddenly called him.

 ** _"If you're not a customer, you can leave_.**" The voice, which sounded like a little girl's said in a sarcastic but boring tone.

Kurama stopped his tracks as he widened his eyes, he had been sweating in nervousness for quite sometime, and he didn't want to get caught again. He slowly turned his head only to face a short black haired girl, with a casual expression on her face staring at him.

He was a bit shocked that the girl surprisingly took notice of him somewhow and now, he found himself between the lines of getting in trouble and fulfilling his goal. He immediately adjusted his mind and switched into acting like a normal fox so she won't bother him.

"Yip!" Kurama blurted out normal fox sounds multiple times in an attempt to convinced her. He had to admit that he really sucked at this job.

The girl just sighed and shook her head." Look if you wanna do something then do it, just don't do anything stupid right." She clarified with a stern look, while going back to reading.

Kurama immediately nodded and stood straight, he was surprised that a girl could speak like that as if she had this unexplainable authority. Was this really a little girl?

With that aside and the girl's permission, Kurama then climb up towards the top of the counter in a matter of moments. By this time, he was finally reaching the top and that means he was going to have the chance to call the boy.

He already had something in mind to say and when he reached the top, he was in for a final surprise.

 **"** Hey Kit I- **"** Kurama wasn't able to continue his words as he was suddenly hit hard in the head by something round, miniscule and plastic.

 **"Bang!** "

* * *

 **(ACCIDENTAL SHOT)**

" **Fire!"**

Konohamaru pulled the trigger of his projectile game gun as the same time Kurama finally was able to reached the top and speak, thus accidentally shooting him.

Konohamaru widened his eyes in shocked as he wasn't expecting the furball to appear in front of him when he fired the game gun towards the balloons. "Oh no." He muttered under his breath.

 _ **"Oh man not again**_." Those were the furball's last words before falling and landing on the ground once more.

There was silence around the area, Konohamaru stared in shocked and blinked a couple of times before putting the game booth gun away and immediately checked on the furball.

"Hey Kurama are you alright!?" Konohamaru said. He was worried that something serious might have happened to him." I'm really sorry I didn't mean to shoot you!" He added as he semi hopped over the counter and saw a half-conscious Kurama laying on the ground groaning with imaginary stars hovering around his head.

Konohamaru sighed in relief, He was glad that the furball was alright, he had been also searching for him all throughout this time and he suddenly felt stranged urged to go to a certain booth, which turned out be this very game booth and he was surprised that the furball was also here.

" _Ahem!_ "

A voice then interupted the moment, Konohamaru, then turned his attention to the clerk of the booth who was has been watching the whole scene and giving him a look of confusion and puzzlement.

"Oh, I kinda forgot to pay, uhmmm sorry about that." Konohamaru gave a little chuckle while scratching his head. He also wondered on what's kid like him running game booth in this festival.

As for Miyuki, she wasn't really into drama or whatsoever, she just wanted the nonsense out of here but she had really no choice but to engaged with them the most professional way as possible.

"What's your name kid?" She asked straightforwardly.

Konohamaru was taken by surprised when the girl spoke to him as if she was older one. "Uhmmm, Konohamaru Ma'am." He immediately replied back as if he was talking to authority.

Just who was this girl?

Miyuki sighed. She was expecting for a smooth ending, but as of now she has to take care of these two dweeves first.

* * *

 **(TRAINING GROUNDS)**

As the late afternoon had arrived, it was a signal that the sun was on its way to set. Himawari sat down and rested herself on a tree along the area of a certain training ground. She took the time to rest her mind and herself for a little while. She never really expected that it would come to this. She had no idea that this is how a socially exhausted person would be like.

The Uzumaki girl sighed as she took a drink of her water bottle, as if she had just came from a marathon, a few moments later, she rested again and turned her attention to the sky and observed the sun, which was on pace of setting down.

It was very much an eventful day for her, in this span of hours, a lot of things happened in a coincidental twist of fate. She finally met her teenage mom in the most unexpected way, also reunited with her Uncle and Aunt, and was placed into the chaotic but fun atmosphere of the festival. All that in one day.

She was really glad that the rest decided to finally leave the festival and go to somewhere peaceful in the form of the empty and quiet training grounds. The rest of the fellas were enjoying their time while she rested on the tree.

Her only goal for now, was to clear her mind from everything and to be at peace for awhile. Although, her thoughts began to fill her mind yet again as a certain memory flashed before her eyes while looking at a certain spot around the training grounds.

It was a memory about a certain person that goes by the name of Kawaki, who saved her life many years ago from a crazy blonde woman when she was just a child. He took the blast that was meant to go straight at her and apologized for breaking the vase that she made.

Himawari wondered if he didn't succumbed to the darkness, he might be a very different person today and things would have not end this way. But it was already too late to begin with. She wasn't sure if the guy had survived and was sent to the past like her but what worried her the most about him is that if he was really here in the past then things might take a drastic turn.

 _"Himawari._ " A voice then called her name.

The Uzumaki girl snapped from her thoughts as she looked up to see Hinata, who had a concern looked." Are you alright?" She asked.

Himawari sighed but smiled." Yeah, I'm alright, I'm just a little bit tired that's all." She explained.

"I understand, trust me being socially exhausted is just a part of the process, In my case, I actually went to the process of being a shy type to improving myself slowly." Hinata said as she sat down with the girl.

"That only thing that helped was this strange feeling of confidence." She added." It's like I just woke up one morning without all the shyness and stuff."

It felt like as if she was different person, but she was still herself in mind and body. Then as time passed by, she started to have these strange dreams of places, people, and things that she herself didn't knew or no knowledge about. It was also a bit strange because these dreams were like snippets of memories of a certain person and not fully shown. It was like a case of De ja vu too.

Himawari was surprised to hear her testimony. This was actually the first time that she heard from the girl herself and she wondered if these dreams were in fact memories from her actual mom. But of course, it was just a guess.

"What about you? Do you experience the same dreams too?" Hinata asked.

Himawari gave a small smile." Uhmm, not really but I do sometimes have nightmares of my own, you know the common stuff." She gave a little chuckle. "I think it's just a matter of finding peace in yourself and all that philosophy stuff."

Hinata smiled." I guess you're right, but still, I'm really thankful on whatever gave me this confidence." She said. This confidence gave him the courage to ask a certain blonde directly on a date but it didn't not end well as she was expecting.

Himawari continued to smile as she felt proud of her younger mom. She was glad to see her lively and full of hope. Their conversation continued on getting know each other's background. Hinata even made sure that she will pay them a visit at the apartment when the two arrived from their mission.

It was pretty much a new establishment of a friendship and a family connection.

* * *

 **(MEANWHILE)**

Miyuki wasn't sure on how to react to this. She never really expected to be handling two jobs at the same time right now. One is for managing the game booth and the other one is making sure that these couple of nimrods are full in stomach.

Yes, it all ended up with her having no choice but to baby sit the two and also treating them two sets of Takuyaki balls, because they were obviously and noticeably very hungry. When she asked about the subject, the boy said that he was short on budget today and had most of his money was spent on the game booths in the festival.

Miyuki could only shake her head, although she understood the fact that this was a boy in front of her and she deduced that the boy had probably been too excited when he entered the festival.

"So you're name is Konohamaru?" She asked, while observing the boy who was enjoying his snack along with the small nine-tailed fox.

"Yes Ma'am." Konohamaru replied, while munching his food. He just recently learned that the girl was in front of her was actually a young adult already and he had quickly mistaken her for kid and being the same age like him.

So he apologized for calling asking her if she was a little girl just awhile ago.

"It's alright, I get that a lot." Miyuki said, before following up with another question." Aren't you a Genin?" She asked. The boy kind of looked familiar as if she saw him before running around the streets catching a cat.

Konohamaru simply nodded." Yes Ma'am." He replied." I'm actually on some D rank missions recently, and that's why you see me running along the streets, because me and my team were trying to find a lost cat." He explained with grin.

"Oh." Miyuki slightly nodded with both of her eyebrows raised." I guess you've done a lot of pretty good jobs then." She said.

Konohamaru gave a grin." Of course, being a Genin really means a lot to me." He said." Or maybe it's the best thing that ever happened to me."

Miyuki sighed but nodded in understanding. She then took a brief moment to to check the time on her watch before focusing back on the boy." Well, I'm really glad about that but I think it's almost night time and you're parents must be very worried already." She said, with a little bit of concern in her voice.

There was a little bit of quietness that took over. Miyuki noticed that the kid was just silent as if his parents were a sensitive topic to him. Then he finally spoke.

"Actually, I really don't know my parents." He said." I was mostly raised by my Grandpa and Uncle." Konohamaru explained. He would then add that he really had no idea on what really happened to his parents until to this day. He was mostly told that they were on a long term mission and all the different information that he was receiving.

Miyuki gave a surprised looked at the kid. "Oh I see." She kind of felt sorry for him, but there was no other choice but to accept the truth.

Konohamaru then gave a smile." It's alright, I'm used to it already." He said, before turning to Kurama." At least I got furball here! hehe." He added, with a chuckle.

Kurama gave an annoyed face, He really didn't like being cuddled and treated as some kind of cute stuffed toy but he had no choice to go along and not blew up his cover.

Miyuki continued to observed the two and gave a small smile. She also took note of the small nine tailed fox, which eerily looked like the Kyuubi no Youko complete with the crimson eyes but a mini version of it. It was then that realization came to her mind and she immediately recognized this fox as the real deal but this was not just some fox, she had the feeling the he came from the future.

"So that's why he sucked so bad at acting like a normal fox." She thought to herself, she slowly locked eyes with the fox.

Kurama on the other hand, noticed the young woman looking at him and while being cuddled by Konohamaru, He took the valuable time to take note at her appearance. She looked like any normal person on the block but her eyes tell a different story, as if she had experienced and a story to tell.

As for Miyuki, she was already thinking of a plan to convinced him that she was on the good side and maybe him along with the boy could play a vital role in the future.

* * *

 **(CONCLUSION)**

It was very much a very eventful day for several people that were brought by fate. There were a lot of unexpected meetings that happened but eventually all of them had an important purpose or meaning.

Himawari went home with a tired but satisfied smile that she managed to conquer her nervousness and one of her fears. It was day to remember and the only thing that was on her mind was to lay down on her bed, the first thing when she gets back at the apartment.

Konohamaru and Kurama, were pretty much exhausted by their little adventure at the festival. The boy was glad to have a met a new friend, who surprisingly treated them free snacks and he won't ever forget that generosity. Kurama was very much burnout for the whole day, he ended up sleeping on top of the boy's head and was snoring all the way.

Neji and Hanabi, felt that they have accomplished a big feat that they were able to handle and managed their plan on getting their future niece established a connection with Hinata. Right now, they were planning on celebrating the accomplishment once they get back at the compound.

Hinata, was very much glad to have a met Himawari. She was amazed on how small the world was and that the girl had known her cousin and sister for quite sometime. She somehow felt really sad and concerned for her in a mysterious way or maybe it was just her strange dreams fueling those emotions.

* * *

 **( A NIGHTLY HANGOUT)**

A festival during the night was probably the best time for a couple to hangout. Jiraiya being the usual sweet gentleman he was, asked and took his former teammate along the streets of the lively and nightly tents and stalls.

It was a great thing that the blonde haired beauty instantly agreed just to get away from the hardships of a Hokage for awhile. She was really busy for these past several days and Jiraiya had the best plan to bring her mood up tonight.

* * *

 **(INTERVIEW)**

 **"This was probably the best thing that I can do or contribute. I'm not really trying to take her on a date but I'm making sure that she will always stay happy, relax, and not stressful. I'm also doing this for Dan."**

 **-Jiraiya**

* * *

So the white haired Sanin did what all he can to further boost his teammate's mood up. He basically did everything from the book as he took her to the happiest spots around the festival that he can locate. From gaming booths, comedy stalls, puppet show stalls, and many more. Still, there was one problem which he cannot solved.

Tsunade seemed to be mostly quiet and a bit pale, she didn't said any word throughout the montage. She just kept observing her surroundings as if she was looking for something. This made the white haired Sanin even more worried.

"Tsunade are you alright?"Jiraiya asked with concern in his voice. He stopped his tracks as he decided to check on his former teammate." Is there something that you need?"

"Tsunade, you need to tell me so I know what to do next." He added, as he was eager to know the reason.

Tsunade continued on being quiet. There was definitely a problem and she was finally going to open her mouth and say it. So she took a deep breath and looked at her teammate in the eye.

"J-Jiraiya, I-I'm-" She was about to say her words when she was suddenly cut by something unexpected.

( **Stomach growls in hunger)**

It came straight from the latter's tummy as an awkward silence followed. Both of the two then directly turned to the source, and stared for a couple of seconds before finally deciding that it was time.

Jiraiya gave a deapanned expression and sighed." So that's the reason why you were so quiet." He commented.

Tsunade could only nod back in shyness because she really didn't have the confidence to tell him that she wanted to eat first, hence why she was so silent all throughout the time.

Jiraiya sighed again but smiled.

"Alright, let's go to the food market."

* * *

 **(A LITTLE WHILE LATER)**

"This is so delicious!"

It was probably the best thing that ever happened to Tsunade, at least for the rest of night. Food was just everywhere and she felt as if she finally entered heaven. She knew that there was going to be a lot of varieties and choice and so she started her expedition.

Jiraiya was also dragged along, he just watched his former teammate hopped from food stall to food stall, buying every dish that she can eat and enjoy. It was a food fest to be honest and the white haired Sanin could do nothing but just smile because he was glad to see her just enjoying.

He didn't asked for any rewards or whatsoever, he was just there to help and be the friend that he can be for the blonde beauty. Although, because of his humbleness, he was able to get one surprising reward.

It was during their time as they walked along the lively night streets that Tsunade managed to secretly slipped a kiss towards the man's cheek. Of course, Jiraiya wasn't aware any of that as he was busy calculating and computing the budget for the rest of night. Although, there was one extra reward that he did noticed during that very moment and it was a familiar voice which he heard saying:

"Thank you."

 **CHAPTER END**

* * *

 **AN: Thank you very much for reading the chapter :)**


	54. Special Chapter: Unlikely Visitor

**Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto, Masashi Kishimoto does.**

 **Author's note: Hey there Readers!, I'm back with a new chapter! I Hope you guys enjoy! I would also like to thank you guys for the Reviews. Favorites, and follows :) Thank you for also sharing your tips and thoughts for the story.**

* * *

 **Arc 3 Second Phase:**

 **Special Chapter: An Unlikely Visitor**

It was a very quiet night when closing hours began. Most of the stalls had already closed down for the night and the only thing that was left was certain game booth that finally turned its lights off.

Miyuki tiredly sighed as she closed down the doors of the stall. It was now alright to say that her work was finally over and it mean't that she had the chance to finally go home. It had been a very tiring but eventful day and she was looking forward to have her well deserved rest.

Miyuki then checked her time and learned that it was already past ten in the evening, at the same time, she looked up and gazed at the beautiful night sky along with its majestic moon which provided light throughout the village and the land.

"Looks like I'm the only one awake at this moment." She commented as she then decided to finally head for home. Although, there was still one more event that she unexpectedly had to go through and it came like a thief in the night.

By the time Miyuki was about to leave the place, she suddenly felt a presence approaching nearby. She stopped and let the silence take over for a few moments. Maybe it was just a stray cat or dog passing by or something differently entirely.

She was the only one present right at the moment as everyone had gone back to their own homes. It was impossible for anyone to be staying awake in this hour.

A silhoutte of a person can be seen through the light of the moon.

"You do have a lot of jobs, ya know." A male voice then suddenly spoke, which immediately caught the young woman's attention.

Miyuki gave a sighed as she calmly turned around to face the mysterious person, who turned out to be a man in a black hooded outfit with blue pants. His face was concealed by his hood and he stood there with both of his hands tied to his back.

"What are you doing here?" Miyuki asked. She wasn't in the mood for any jokes right now. She was even quite surprised to see him here.

The hooded person gave a chuckle." You really are the serious type aren't you?" He gave a comment, as he yawned and stretched his arms in the air.

"Although, that's your character for the past thousand years, so I can't do anything about that." He added, as he casually rested himself on a nearby bench.

Miyuki continued to observed as she just narrowed her eyes at the hooded person. "I thought you were busy with your stupid ammendment bills." She said, with a sarcastic tone.

The hooded man just smiled underneath his hood." Well, I didn't came here to fight or do something out of the blue." He said." I just came here to check you since you filed your leave of absence not too long ago."

Miyuki gave small smirked." For your information, I left because I can't stand those idiots, and I guess your slowly turning into them." She said.

"Woah! Be careful, I'm not that kind of person, especially that I'm the only one doing what is right and setting things straight up." He explained, with a little bit of pride in his voice.

Miyuki just kept silent and sighed. She really had to be careful on what she was gonna say. She had the best undercover mission that she was in and one wrong slipped, everything will fall down like dominoes.

"Ya know, I'm not really sure if you already had met the rest of the guys but I tell you that they'll be really kicking ass in this world." He said with pride and energy." They deserved their second chances if they want to redeem themselves or fulfill their unfinished goals."

The hooded man then turned to the bright moon." You know when Kami-sama sacrifice his life just to kept the world alive, everything wasn't same anymore." He added." As if everything was left in the ditch and the responsibility was eventually passed down."

"The only responsibility that became screwed up." The hooded man finished his little speech as he then stood up from his seat and also started gazing at the moon.

Miyuki continued to be silent despite the past returning back to her once again. For the last time, she really didn't want to cooperate with his plans just to make the worlds better and she didn't signed up for a job like that. She got her own plans. Although, she can still remember the memory and feel the emotions on what happened thousand years ago, when the being was sealed.

She didn't want to be part of the game as his piece, because it had already been decided and that was she was going to make her own pieces as a part of the light. This wasn't a civil war to begin with, but a mission to prevent destruction and restore what was mean't to be originally.

"So tell me Miyuki, will things end up in complete disarray or will there be a better alternative for this conflict?" The hooded man asked once again. He just wanted to know her thoughts about it.

There was silence that followed soon after, Miyuki gave a little sigh as she then calmly turned back around." How should I know? I'm on vacation remember?" She replied, with sarcasm in her tone of voice as she proceeded to leave and walked away from the scene.

The hooded man gave a laid back chuckle." You really haven't changed all these years! But it's aIright, being yourself is a good thing! and I completely respect your opinion." He replied, as he watched the other walking away.

"I'm looking forward on seeing you again." The Hooded man added, and sighed before giving his last sentence." And I'm hoping to see the real you this time."

"Idiot." Miyuki muttered under her breath while walking calmly away from the place. He was quite the eccentric and playful person. He was really difficult to unpredictable personality of his.

As for the hooded man, a smile formed on his lips. He then gave a little sigh, looked up and continued to gazed at the night sky, especially the majestic moon. He then brought both his right and left hand up together and aimed it towards the moon itself in a form of certain shape.

"We still gotta long way to go."

 **(CHAPTER END)**

* * *

 **AN: Thank you for reading the chapter:)**


	55. Arc 3 Phase 2: Tenchi Bridge Part 1

**I don't own Naruto. Kishimoto Does.**

 **Author's note: Hey there Readers!, Looks like we've finally entered Arc 3! I Hope you guys enjoy! I would also like to thank you guys for the Reviews. Favorites, and follows :) Thank you for also sharing your tips and thoughts for the story.**

 **Take note: This is the first part of the Tenchi Bridge Incident.**

 **Expect some grammar and spelling mistakes along the way.**

 **Thank you for Understanding :)**

* * *

 **Arc 3 : Phase 2**

 **Chapter 20: Tenchi Bridge Part 1**

Being Miyuki's asset or assistant for a long time was a big changed in his life. Before the unemployment crisis came about, he was able to apply for a job, luckily his resume got accepted and he was placed under her office, thus the beginning of an adventure that he really didn't expected in the first place.

Another thing about his job was that it was obviously dangerous. Being part of a division that investigates illegal and heinous activities in or out of the Pure Land, it was kind of a bummer that he would always be placed in the front lines of the operations and considering he'd been doing this thing for a long time now, he was already used to it.

Showtaro had been exhausted for these passed couple of days. He had no rest because he really needed to not wasted any of his time. It was a complete rush hour and he must locate the team that was sent for the retrieval mission, especially the two time travellers who were a part of the said team.

To be honest, he really wasn't sure why Miyuki would instruct him to warn and inform those two teens about the whole situation. It was all classified information and it all started when the young woman just woke up one day thinking of filing a leave of absence then taking a vacation in the Human world. It was a major turn of events at least for him, but he understood the fact that working with the council that was slowly turning into a corrupt government had drained much of her faith, so maybe that was the reason why she did it in the first place?

He may never know the truth until he gets back from his mission. Although, she did told him that, she had just came back from a crazy journey in the future and all that hocus pocus. It really doesn't matter to him now as long as he was working for the light.

He surveyed his surroundings as he flew across the land. Being a duck really has an advantage, he got that free flight to himself and is free of charged.

"There must be here somewhere." Showtaro said as he finally reached the area where the bridge was located. All he have to do was find them around the area near the bridge.

All he could see now was mostly green because of the forest, but after a few moments, he immediately sensed a presence from a certain spot. He narrowed his eyes while forming a smile on his face." Gotcha!" He said as he proceeded to head to the certain spot.

He also took note that the enemy would be also somewhere around the area closely watching by and he really had to be careful on being caught or else trouble may come early.

* * *

 **(REHEARSALS)**

It was a day full of preparations to be exact. The team had spent all the time in the morning getting ready for the big event that was expected to happened later on. It was pretty much a role play rehearsal, each of the them had their own scripts which they followed and used it to reenact the scenarios on how would they handle the upcoming situation.

Boruto stood at a certain area where he can properly overview the reenactment. It was like watching a movie being produced, complete with characters and dialogues. He observed and watched as his young dad, Sai, and Yamato attempted their twentieth take of the scene where they were gonna capture the spy.

Naruto and Sai acted as themselves while Yamato took the role of the target. The scene began at the bridge where the meeting will be held, followed by a staged ambush attack on the target, then a brief chase and finally at the last part where the two will have to engaged the target in a battle before finally capturing him.

The script was a bit short but it was actually difficult to reenact in real life. There were times where they suddenly forget their roles or lines in the script but eventually all of them were able to successfully finished every take. Boruto watched as his young dad and Sai engaged a small battle with Yamato for the twentieth time, focusing more on offensive side and capturing the target. Naruto was yelling all over the place, trying his best to over matched the brown haired man while Sai just kept quiet and focused more on the thinking side.

It eventually got into the point where Yamato was able to trick or outsmart one of them by secretly creating a puppet decoy attached with a trap and it was none other than Naruto himself, who's recklessness just took over, as he went for the decoy and got himself entangled by its hard ink rope substance courtesy of Sai.

As for the young member of root, he was able gain the upper hand and eventually captured the target by using his signature technique, the Super Beast Scroll, which quickly summoned a set of ink creatures that captured the brown haired man by subduing both of his legs and immediately tying up both of his hands around his back.

Yamato immediately lost his balance and fell down on the ground. He was surprised to discover that something had tied his feet and hands at the same time, and he found himself laying almost face down.

Sai gave a smile, this was his twentieth catch of the day and he couldn't helped but rubbed his victory on the blonde's face, who was still entangled with the fake Yamato dummy.

Boruto could only sighed as he thought this time things would be different. He thought that his young dad would eventually be the victor but that only on his dreams. The reality of it was on his doorstep knocking. He then proceeded to walked and head towards the direction were his young dad was very much still entangled.

Meanwhile for Naruto, He was irritated and loud as ever. His temper got the best of him again, and began yelling for Sai, who placed him into this mess.

"Dammit Sai!"

"Get your ass back here and untie me you piece of crap!"

"SAI!"

It was this time that Boruto had finally arrived at the scene and immediately headed towards his young dad's side and helped him break free from his entanglement.

"Calm down Naruto!" He said.

Naruto immediately calmed down." Oops sorry about that." He said as he still retained an annoyed looked." That Sai is really a pain in the neck." He voiced his complaint.

Boruto gave a sighed." You don't have to put all your anger towards him." He explained." Remember, this is only a simulation." He said as he examined the substance that was binding the blonde all together.

Boruto raised an eyebrow as he then tried to cut the rubber ink substance with his Kunai but he wasn't able to fully cut it." You've got to be kidding me!" He thought to himself. There was only one way to removed this rubbery subtance.

"Alright, this might sting a little." The rookie said and warned. He secretly channeled his chakra, thus tapping into his lightning release as electricity filled the Kunai.

Once it was all ready, he then proceeded to cut the rubbery substance.

As for Naruto, He didn't quite heard on what the rookie had said.

"I guess you're right, I think I should- Damn, what the heck was that!?" He wasn't able to finish his sentence as he suddenly felt electricity around the rubbery ink substance.

A few seconds later, the substance was cut and dissolved into the ground. He was finally free from his entanglement, but with questions in his head. What was that electricity just now? Was it just in his imagination though?

As for Boruto, he secretly gave a little chuckle as helped his young dad stand up." I guess we have to thank Kami for that." He commented.

"I guess so." Naruto said, before a thought came into his mind." By the way where is Sakura-chan and Sarada-san?" He asked and his blonde counterpart.

* * *

 **(OBSERVATION)**

"Looks like the Coast is clear so far."

Sarada informed as she gave the pink haired teen a smile. Sakura simply nodded as she marked and carved a "Check" sign at a certain spot in the forest which had a good view of the bridge although, it was kind of a few distances far from the actual bridge itself.

Yamato had apparently instructed the two teens to search for perfect hiding spots somewhere near area of the bridge. The hiding spots will eventually served the team later on as their own positions for their surprised ambush against the target. It's only a matter of time before the main event happens.

It been quite sometime now since they began their tasks and they were at the point where the two were now finishing their jobs. They'd really made sure that everything goes smoothly as planned later on and they went to the point where they doubled check the areas. Once they were finally done with all of their task, they headed back to base camp.

It was during the final rounds checking when the Uchiha girl herself noticed something strange. Sarada was overseeing the bridge when she caught a glimpse of a human figure standing at the otherside of the bridge. She quickly fixed her vision to get a good looked only to discover that no one was there anymore.

She just stood there with puzzled face, figuring out on what she had seen. It was not until the pink haired teen called her name and asked her about the current condition of the area. Sarada immediately headed back and gave her report.

Once they were all done with the tasks, they set their journey towards bse camp by walking along the little forest pathway and as also during this time the two teens engaged in a conversation.

It all started when Sakura noticed something about the raven haired rookie. She was indeed quiet, with a puzzled face as if something was bothering her altogether. Of course, this immediately made the pink haired teen a bit concerned.

"Hey Sarada are you alright?" Sakura asked, which caught the attention of the rookie." Is something bothering you?"

Sarada snapped back to reality when she heard her young mother's voice calling her. She then turned around to face the teen." Uhmmm, Yes I'm alright!" She said with a smile on her face.

"Are you sure? You looked as if you've seen something shocking." Sakura said. She was suspicious this time and she was used to seeing people hiding their problems as secrets which she quite didn't like.

It was after several moments that Sarada finally sighed and gave in. Her mother's stern stare was the main culprit that really give her the discipline vibes. She thought as if she was talking to her actual mother in front of her even though it was a teenage version of her that she was talking to.

For Sakura, she was sticking to her job as a mentor to guide the rookie and it all starts with her trying to know any possible problem from Sarada herself. It was definitely her main job throughout this mission.

"It's alright, you can tell me." Sakura gave an assuring smile.

It was after a few moments that the raven haired rookie took slight deep breath as she began to tell her reason." Well, I was just thinking if we're being followed recently." She explained.

"What do you mean by being followed?" Sakura raised a questionable eyebrow.

Sarada then took another deep breath." Well, during the surveying of the areas, I noticed something strange from the otherside." She replied. She would then go on to explained that there was this mysterious human figure that she saw moving around the forest but was suddenly gone the second she looked back.

Sakura was even more puzzled and confused." Uhmm, I'm really not sure on what to say about this but I think we're just gonna have to be ready for anything that's going to happen." She said.

"Oh I see."

* * *

 **(INTERVIEW)**

 ** _"I wasn't really sure if I was just seeing things from my imagination but I won't judge early, I still have to know what's exactly going on or what's really happening so far. My only guess is that the figure it could be the spy or that it could be one of those strange hooded figures that Bolt claimed that he saw. during the previous mission."_**

 ** _-Sarada_**

* * *

The topic of the conversation immediately changed after that, the two began discussing about the mission itself and the possible situations that might happened. It was Sarada that actually started the conversation. She started asking some questions regarding the target and more.

"So about this target that Yamato-sensei had brief us about, where do you think he got the information from?" Sarada asked, it felt like she knew about it but somehow can't remember.

There was a quietness that took over for a short period of time. Sakura thought about it at first, she knew it was classified information but dhe thought of the rookies and their right to know information.

"Well, it was actually me that told Lady Tsunade and then Yamato-sensei about the information, and speaking about the source, I got it from guess who, Sasori." Sakura explained, with a grin on her face. She would then go on to tell that the former member of the Akatsuki had told her of the information during their the end of the Kazekage rescue mission.

Sarada didn't react with any surprise, she just simply nodded in understanding." Oh, I think that's great!" She said." At least that's many steps on towards rescuing Pa- Sasuke Uchiha?" She almost fell there but managed to put in a way of being a little not sure about the results.

Sakura gave a smile, when she heard that particular name." Yup, that's right!" She paused for a little bit before continuing." I guess you haven't met him yet but he used to be a member of Team 7 before he left the village." She explained.

"He left the village?" Sarada asked, although she already heard of this story, she still wanted to know some of the important missing details, that she missed.

Sakura simply nodded and gave a sad smile." Yes, but that was a long time ago, It's kind of a sensitive topic for us to talk about that." She explained." Although, I can only tell you that if you met him in person, you might want to be careful because he is a girl magnet." She chuckled, referring to her teammate's ability to attract girls.

At first, Sarada was a little bit confused but managed to understand what the pink haired girl had told her." Oh, I get it." She said, without any reaction except for surprise.

Sakura then raised an eyebrow." It seems to me that you're not even surprised on what I'm talking about him?" She said.

"Oh sorry about that, I'm just really not quite familiar about the term, that's all." Sarada gave a nervous chuckle. In fact, to think that she would fall in love with her dad was a really a weird thing to be honest.

"Oh I see." Sakura said." So you're not into the relationship yet huh?"

"Sarada gave a shrugged." I guess so." She replied." But, if you're going to ask me about Bolt, you're wrong, He's just a childhood friend." She also gave a chuckle.

"Hmmmm, Really?" Sakura gave a puzzled looked before finally nodding in understanding.

As for Sarada, she retaliated it with a question." What about you though? Do you somewhat like Sasuke?"

Sakura gave a sigh." Well, I used to be one of his fan girls but as time passed by, things changed." She said. She would go on to explained that chasing a dream boy all your life was not worth it and it was a good thing that she focused more on getting stronger.

Sarada gave a smile." I see, you really are an inspiration." She commented.

"Thank you Sarada." Sakura said as she gave a chuckle.

* * *

 **(INTERVIEW)**

" **It was very much a very friendly conversation with Sarada and It felt like as if I was talking to a person that I've known for years."**

 **-Sakura**

* * *

 **(ANOTHER ARGUMENT)**

"Great Job Sai! It's your twentieth catch by the way."

Another praised was then heard again, from the team's brown haired instructor as the rubbery ink substance binding him was dissolved and he was finally back on his feet. Naruto was finally back after being assisted by the blonde rookie a little awhile ago, while the two girls had just arrived from their surveying task at the real bridge.

"Looks like simulation is finally over!" Yamato announced to the rest of the team with a smile, he had to admit that preparing for the real event was quite a challenge but he still kept that confidence on his team alive.

However, some things were still not going as he envisioned.

The wind grew blew stronger, there was a quietness that took over and the there was a little tense in the atmosphere. It was much obvious that another stare off between Naruto and Sai was happening yet again. An event that has become usual throughout the mission.

Boruto was more worried than ever, he was aware that he had officially become some sort of baby sitter to his hot tempered teenage dad. His worries eventually came true in a matter of moments when his young dad went up against Sai and held him by the collar.

"What the heck is your problem!?" Naruto exclaimed, his eyes boiling with frustration.

"Do you have any idea what teammwork means!?"

"Do you have any idea what the word " **Friend** " means!?"

"Or are you just playing dumb!?"

The blonde was very furious, he really thought the guy already knew what teammwork is or what he was supposed to do when a mistake was committed, but he was yet fooled yet again.

Sai just kept smiling amidst the continous yells and sermons of the blonde teen. He really didn't mind, in fact he was even keen to tease or would like to fuel his anger more. So drew out a small empty scroll, opened it and wrote a single word on it which was revealed to be none other than the word " **Friend**."

It was the reason why Naruto stopped yelling for awhile and stared at the small scroll, eventually he became confused but with a little sprinkle of annoyance. "What's this supposed to mean?" He asked.

Sai simply smiled." I'm showing this to you to boost your brain cells up." He said." I really don't know if stupidity has caught up with you." He added.

With that statement said, Naruto gritted his teeth and formed a fist, he was going to charged at the black haired teen before being stopped by Boruto from behind, who reminded him to calm down. He didn't understood on why the rookie was preventing him but he was right that he should keep cool and handle this professionally.

Sai continued." You do not realized that you're recklessness and stubborness almost cause us another take." He explained." And that's why I took action in the first place to prevent things from getting worst." He added.

 **"He has a point though**." Sarada thought, from behind.

Another quietness had took over the area, everyone was placed on thoughts thinking about on what the black haired teen said. However, for the blonde, his pride and emotions took over and he gave an irritated look.

"I still don't give a damn!" Naruto said, as he narrowed his eyes." I won't accept you!" He added as he then turn his back and began to walk away.

"Nor as a friend, a comrade, or member of this team!"

It was yet another conflict between the two, Yamato was shaking his head as hs thought the two werw finally in good terms but he was wrong yet again. The rest of the members just stood and watched the scene unfold, Sakura didn't knew what to say or do at this moment, while Boruto and Sarada just tried to understand the situation.

Although, it didn't stop from there. Sai then spoke again regarding a sensitive topic.

" I wonder what Sasuke will do in this situation." He said, while Naruto stopped his tracks when he heard the name." Would he have fought while protecting you?" He added. "After all you consider him as a friend or a teammate."

Naruto didn't respond, he just slightly turned in front and gave a look.

Sakura was more worried than ever." This is not good at all. At this rate, He might lose control." She thought.

Sai then gave a sigh." Assuming that you can still call someone a friend, who betrayed his own village and even attempted to hurt you as a friend" He added.

Another silence took over yet again. The tense in the air had grew as everyone waited for his response. Even Boruto and Sarada were a bit nervous even though they were trying their best to calm down.

After a few moments, Naruto finally spoke." I'd do anything to protect and save my friends." He simply said before turning back and walking away towards a certain area, before that he gave the blonde rookie a wink and a grin

Everyone thought that he was gonna go beserk yet again but surprisingly, he handled things differently this time. It was a surprised for both Boruto and Sarada because they were already expecting another trash talking fest yet again. Both rookies looked at each other with amused reactions before being called on by Sakura.

"I'm really sorry for what's happening right now." She apologized." But, we really have to understand him." She added.

"Sasuke-kun was like a brother to him." She said." They shared a bond that was considered to be unbreakable." She explained to the rookies.

Both Boruto and Sarada nodded in understanding. Both of their fathers were considered a tag team and the best of buddies back in their time. It was just really natural for young seventh to care for his best friend and teammate.

"As much as I wanted care, I really don't bother." Sai spoke as he caught the rest of their attention.

Remember, the book title that I discussed you about?" He said." I really don't have that much emotion or whether to feel about it." He added.

Sakura slightly narrowed her eyebrows." Even if you're brother was killed?" She said.

Sai smiled." My brother is already dead for a long time, there's no point of thinking or reacting to that much." He explained.

"What kind of a statement is that?" Sakura asked. She totally disagreed with him but she tried her best to convinced him that there are things more than meets eye rather than just being emotionless and stuff.

She also tried to explained to him that all things were for the better if he really stops being a nutcase, that if he cooperates on helping getting Sasuke back, then things might be well off from then on.

As the two continued their debate continued, a short conversation struck the two rookies from behind.

Boruto gave a tapped on Sarada's shoulders and gave her a smile.

"I'll go on ahead and check dad out for awhile." He said.

Sarada then nodded." Okay, I'll stay here for the meantime." She said, as she chose to remain as a possible referee if anything goes haywire.

"Good luck!" Boruto as he headed towards the area where his young dad went off to.

Things just never changed.

* * *

 **(Interview)**

 **"I was practically an unofficial baby sitter for my teenage dad in this mission. I really had to carefully watch every move he makes whenever he gets angry. I really can't imagine the possible scenarios if we weren't here."**

 **-Boruto**

" **Well, one of the common problems of a team is having a bad chemistry. With members not getting along, the chances of a mission failing are definitely high."**

 **-Sarada**

* * *

 **(AN ACT?)**

"See what I did there Bolt?"

"You should you've seen his face, He thought I was really gonna go at him, but of course, handling this in a professional way is much better! Dattebayo!"

It was all smiles and proudness for one Naruto Uzumaki. He never thought that he would really pull this one off in this mission. He stood proudly as he gave the rookie a friendly pat on the shoulder. "I really couldn't do this without you Bolt!" He praised the rookie.

Boruto stood there staring at his young dad. The rookie was confused yet somehow glad that to see him slowly handling things in a more calm way. He was surprised because he thought he was going to restrain him yet again from charging at Sai.

"Uhmm, I really don't know what to say." Boruto replied while scratching the back of his head." But I guess you really got us there." He added.

Naruto gave a grin." Well, that's the power of the Uzumaki!" He exclaimed." Tell me kid, if you were a part of this awesome bloodline, what would you do to handle this kind of situation?" He asked.

There was a bit quietness that took over. Boruto was indeed getting confused and he felt the awkwardness creeping up to him. He just didn't have enough courage to say that he didn't understand any single thing that his hyperactive teenage dad was saying. It was already a long speech to him since he had said so many words already.

"So if you wanna be an Uzumaki, you really gotta work hard." Naruto proudly finished his speech with a smile. He also gave the rookie another pat on the shoulder yet again.

"Ya know, I can really see the potential in you Bolt." Naruto said as he then observed blonde's cerulean eyes for a moment." Ya know, sometimes I thought that you were some kind of a long lost twin brother." He said.

Boruto gave a surprised look. "A long lost brother? How's that so?" He asked.

Naruto gave a chuckle." Well, we had the same blonde hair and eyes, although except for the scar on your right eye and the patches on your cheeks." He said." Did you get into an accident or something?"

Boruto took a breath." Uhmmm, actually yeah, I got it from a training accident long ago." He explained." And I kind of forgot all about it."

For a few moments, Naruto stared at the rookie with a surprised look before finally nodding." I understand Bolt, nobody really wants to remember the bad memories." He said." But, Hey as long as we are here, we can still create good memories!"

"I guess you're right, Naruto." Boruto gave a small smile.

It was at this moment when Naruto place his hand on his forehead as the blonde teen suddenly felt dizzy. He felt as if his head was boiling to the point where it was now considered a headache. In fact, this was the first time, that he had one.

Boruto immediately reacted as he caught and prevented the blonde from falling down on the ground." Hey, are yoh alright?" He asked with concern in his voice. He was caught by surprised when his teenage dad suddenly lost balance and almost fell down.

Naruto gave a smile." Yeah, I'm fine." He said before giving a chuckle." I thought I was gonna passed out there for a second." He said, before finally recovering from his strange feeling.

Boruto sighed in relief. He thought something bad was gonna happen to him as he wondered about the mysterious headache that strucked his teenage dad.

 **"Hey guys**!" A familiar voice suddenly interrupted the silence.

Boruto then turned around only to meet Sarada, who had just arrived at the scene." Sarada-chan?" He said.

The Uchiha girl stopped her tracks as she arrived with an important announcement." Yamato-sensei is calling you two back to base camp." She said." He's going to brief us later on.

"Alright copy that!" Naruto said, he was fully recovered and thanked the other rookie as he headed back first.

"Catch you guys later!" He said before disappearing from the scene.

All that's left were the two rookies.

* * *

 **(UNEXPECTED ARRIVAL)**

Boruto immediately took a deep breath to relieved his exhaustion. He felt as if he participated in three marathons in one day. Baby sitting was not really on his resume but he just tried his best to to stay calm and understand the situation as possible.

Sarada headed towards her teammate to check if he was alright. She gave this warm smile as she placed a hand on the blonde's shoulder to cheer him up." It really made you exhausted."

Boruto sighed but smiled." Yup, there's nothing I can really do about it." He said." This is how teenage dad acts and I'll just have to do my best to adapt to him."

"Just like how my old man did when I was still a brat vandalizing the Hokage Monument." He added.

Sarada simply nodded. She understood what he mean't and she was also a witness to his old antics when they were still kids." From what I see in front of me, A fine looking mature brat." She gave a chuckle.

Boruto then raised an eyebrow with small ." Don't try to tease me Sarada-chan." He said." I know your style."

Sarada chuckled." Oh come on, I'm just cheering you up!" She said, folding her arms around her chest.

The two rookies engaged on a playful debate. It was for the fun actually, Boruto teasefully praised his teammate while the other fired back. Eventually it was a tough battle with Boruto eventually giving up in the end, because he really can't beat his teammate in stuff like this.

It was a situation that the two cherished before they were going to face the real danger. Even though, they were just going to be placed on the audience side, they had a feeling that they were gonna be forcibly thrown into the pit again once the danger arrives.

It was at this moment, when the two were about head back that they heard a loud crash at one of bushes nearby which really startled them. Sarada was in the midst of her sentence when they heard the loud crash. She slightly moved closer to her teammate and unawarely held him in his right shoulder.

The two began to wonder on what just happened, thoughts were running around in their minds, was it just one of those random animals roaming around the forest or something else. Investigation was the only word so far and they decided to go near to see what it was.

Of course, no one would really thought that the enemy had arrived in front of them.

Both of them felt their hearts slowly beating faster as they neared the certain bush. It was not more than a few seconds that something white and feathery burst out from the bush giving one more little scare. Sarada shrieked as she raised her hand in the form of a fist in the air, not aware that her teammate was almost caught by her punch.

Boruto sighed in relief, he was able to avoid on what's coming to him. Looks like he survived this time.

"Looks like I made it just in time." The white and feathery creature which was revealed to be cute duck.

"Woah, It talks!" Boruto commented. He was very much surprised to see a duck in front of him that talks.

Showtaro just gave a deadpanned expression. It pretty much obvious for anyone to see him like that. He just wondered on why people had to comment it loudly. Although, putting that aside, he went straight forward to the point.

He then adjusted his voice properly as he gave them a smile to ease out the tension." Sorry for the interruption kids but are you Boruto and Sarada? The two teens that Miyuki told me about?"

Both of the two gave surprised reactions to learn that this talking duck knew Miyuki. Just who is this person exactly.

"My name is Showtaro, I'm Miyuki's asset and she was the one that sent me here." He introduced himself to the teens." I'm here to bring you information that you two should really know right now. He said while still catching a bit of his breath.

Boruto and Sarada gave glances at each other before turning towards Showtaro." What information?"

Showtaro then cleared his throat yet again and started to tell all the important information that they needed to know.

"Information about the enemy and one of them is already here."

* * *

 **(MEANWHILE)**

It was a quiet time as Naruto was on his way towards the main base. He walked along the forest, with only the rustling trees as his company. Thoughts were also running in his mind as he wondered about the sudden dizziness and headache that he felt not too long ago.

Even though, He has fully recovered, he waa still a bit dizzy as he walked his way throughout.

He really had no idea on what caused his headache but he hoped that he was not getting the same thing as his pink haired teammate. He had to admit that this was the first time that he had experienced this before and at the same time when it happened, he saw something flashed before his eyes. He didn't knew what exactly it was but he thought it was some sort of vague memory that he couldn't understand. A vague memory about a man standing and observing the Hokage Monument which surprisingly had seven faces carved instead of five.

And two little kids besides that man which were somewhat familiar.

Naruto suddenly stopped his tracks as he drew out his Kunai and turned around only to see that not a single soul from behind. "What?" He muttered.

He thought felt someone following him or at least someone was watching him from behind. Although, that could only be his imagination or his mind playing tricks with him yet again.

Naruto took a deep breath to ease out his tension as he then placed his Kunai back and continued on his way. It was really strange to be honest, there was this feeling that everything was going to go into chaos later on, he just couldn't figured it all out.

As he left the current area that he was in, a silhoutte of a white human figure can be seen standing near one of the trees.

* * *

 **(CHAPTER END)**

 **AN: Thank you for reading the chapter:)**


	56. Arc 3 Phase 2: Tenchi Bridge Part 2

**I don't own Naruto. Kishimoto Does.**

 **Author's note: Hey there Readers!, Looks like we've finally entered Arc 3! I Hope you guys enjoy! I would also like to thank you guys for the Reviews. Favorites, and follows :) Thank you for also sharing your tips and thoughts for the story.**

 **Take note: This is the second part of the Tenchi Bridge Incident.**

 **Expect some grammar and spelling mistakes along the way.**

 **Thank you for Understanding :)**

* * *

 **Arc 3: Phase 2**

 **Chapter 21: Tenchi Bridge Part 2**

Everything seemed to be going smoothly as plan. It was probably one of the first time since the Team had actually cooperated with each other without any fights or hindrances. So far, it was the three main members and their captain who were working very hard towards the next step of the mission.

" **Mokuton: Transformation**!"

It all started with Yamato performing a single handsign which transformed him into the former Akatsuki, Sasori. It was in his Puppet Armor form to which he specifically transformed into. He needed to get that exact detailed appearance of him so that the spy would not get suspicious.

The smoke cleared and the trio find themselves staring at their now disguised sensei. It was the exact same copy of the Hikori puppet that Sasori donned during the rescue mission long ago. Both Naruto and Sakura thought that they were facing an enemy because on how it brought them the still fresh memories of the mission.

"So do I look good?"

Yamato had to asked first because he wasn't sure if he copied the appearance correctly. In addition, he doesn't even have a mirror nor the other members, so he had to depend on their comments and judgement.

For Naruto and Sakura, they were just amazed and fastly approved of the matter. Both gave their thumbs up and began to share their comments about the appearance.

"For a second I thought it was Sasori himself Dattebayo!"

"It's a jackpot Yamato-sensei!"

Yamato gave a sigh, he thought he did the wrong thing." Alright, now let me adjust the voice and tell me if it sounds right." He added, while the rest simply nodded.

By this time, he began to adjust his voice. It was pretty much a very hilarious yet difficult task to do. The challenge was to find that particular deep husky intimidating voice to which the original Akatsuki member possessed. Naruto and Sakura contributed by helping the man pin point the exact the tone and quality.

After a couple of minutes of adjusting, Yamato finally was able to find the voice. "Shall we start the operation?" He said in the old Hikori puppet voice.

Sakura raised her eyebrow as she noticed a small error in the way her diguised sensei spoke." Uhmm, Yamato-sensei, it sounds way too polite." She gave her feedback.

Naruto scratched his chin and gave his own feedback." We need something scary or violent!" He said, with hand gestures.

Yamato nodded. "Okay, how about this?" He then cleared his throat.

"I'm Irritable, and hate waiting and being kept waiting!" He gave all the emotion that he had, just to bring the Sasori persona to life.

Naruto was amazed yet again. " You got it Sensei! That's the voice we're looking for Dattebayo!" He exclaimed. Even though he had been transforming into different diguises much like these throughout the years, He still can"t get over the excitement that he was feeling right now.

Yamato gave another sigh before putting on his serious persona." Alright! the enemy should be alert by now, Let's split up and go to your positions!" He instructed.

"Always observed cooperation and Teammwork, especially you Naruto." He added.

Naruto simply nodded in understanding. There was no reason to forget the main values of this team, he lived for it throughout these years and he'd always stuck to the code. The only thing that was hindering him from using those values was Sai, but as of now he must discipline himself to cooperate.

With all the preparations finished, it was finally time for the team to move forward to the main task.

As the main members finally split up from their sensei, a thought came into Naruto himself as he looked behind." Hey! what happened to Bolt and Sarada?" He wondered to himself while observing the forest.

"Why are they taking so long?"

* * *

 **(EXPLANATION)**

It was something that definitely came out of the blue. A unknown situation that both of the teens never expected that they're going to be thrown into. It was also eyes and ears at the very moment, as they listened to the Miyuki's asset, Showtaro and his whole reason for being here.

They were currently at an area in the forest were it was considered to be the safest place from the enemy's watchful eyes. Showtaro stood and observed the two teens, he also began to wonder yet again if Miyuki really was serious on choosing these teens, but as of now, there was no time to dwell on those thoughts. He cleared his throat as he began to open his mouth and spread the information to them.

"Alright, let's go back to the beginning." Showtaro said as he took another deep breath before giving the two a calm look." As both of you teens already know that I was sent here by Miyuki to informed you two about the current situation that you're in right now." He said.

"So we are not aware on what is happening right now?" Boruto asked, curiosity and alertness was growing inside his mind. He really wanted to get to the bottom of this.

Sarada kept quiet as she observed and carefully listen to the ongoing information being passed down to her and the blonde. The information must be very important and urgent for them to hear.

As for Showtaro, He was a bit sweating because of the little pressure and urgency that he was feeling right now. He was not sure if this was excitement or nervousness or maybe just both right now, but he had to make sure that he would relay the information to them in a proper and understandable way.

He was a professional.

"Alright, the situation that you two are in right now is a little bit dangerous, because the enemy or at least one of them is present in this whole area." He explained.

"Wait a sec, so there are more than one?" Boruto asked again. He was surprised to know that they will be dealing a number of them.

"How many are they exactly?" Sarada spoke this time.

Showtaro then scratch the back of his feathery neck." Well, I'm not really sure about their numbers but according to the my reports, it's estimated that the enemy is consist of a group of eight to nine individuals or maybe even above that number." He informed the two about the existence of this mysterious group.

"Man, that's a lot." Boruto commented as the blonde scratched the back of his head, He even managed to give a little chuckle after that. He hoped that these group of individuals would not be that like of the Kara Organization.

Showtaro nodded as he continued." Just to give hints about their background, these people in hooded cloaks are from the Pure Land and their pretty dangerous." He said.

Boruto raised his eyebrows in surprised." Wait a sec, so we are dealing with dead people here?" He asked yet again.

Showtaro then raised a hand to calm him down." Not exactly dead people, but they were formerly dead before they've been illegally brought back to life!" He added.

There was a bit of silence that took over amongst them. Showtaro knew that the truth was hard to believe but it was actually the truth to begin with. The only thing that he's worried about is on how the two teens will handle them when they crossed paths.

"What do you mean by illegal? Did they used the edo something tensei to bring them back to life." Boruto asked, he was a bit confused on that part.

Showtaro took another deep breath." Uhmmm no, It's actually part of the Pure Land rules, there are more powerful ways that everyone in this world is not fully aware off." He explained." It's a kind of power that can bring an individual to life, not as a zombie or undead but full flesh and blood." He then paused to catch his breath.

Another set of quietness enveloped the two teens, Boruto was in disbelief and scratching his head while Sarada kept calm but was more in her thoughts. It seemed that the two was facing something very different this time and who knows on how will they handle it.

Sarada nodded on the other hand." So this group of individuals, do you have any idea on what they looked like or maybe a hint of their appearance?" She asked, She wanted to know their appearance so that they may have an idea on how to distinguished or identify them.

Showtaro cleared his throat yet again." Well, according to my reports these people are concealed in some form of diguised when they were sent here and the closest possible appearance is that of hooded cloaks." He explained, finally giving a hint of their actual appearance.

Boruto then turned his head towards his teammate and vice versa. He gave the Uchiha girl a look which mean't that his suspicions were about the enemy were fact true.

"Look, I know there is still a lot of things to be explained and questions to be answered, but it's really important that you two should be aware of this." Showtaro said. He also felt bad for them since all those information were tough to absorbed in one go.

"And you really need to be careful and must avoid them at all cost." He added. He would then explained that chances of risk would be high if they decided to face the enemy and that is why he is warning the two teens.

Another several moments of quietness took over, even though it was a tough decision-making process, they still had to do something about it or else the enemy might found his or herself harming his dad and the rest of team. A small smile then formed around his lips as the blonde then looked at the two.

Boruto then smirked." Ya know, why should we even worry about this? We're the freaking protaganist in this story!" He exclaimed as he expressed his eagerness to help.

He then calmed himself down and gave a smile." We'll help the team no matter what or even we are just observers." He added.

Sarada simply nodded, she already knew that her teammate would say things like that. They've been teammates for a long time now and no one could really stop the blonde from saving his loved ones. It's already a part of his character.

The Uchiha girl then turned to Showtaro and gave him a smile." Uhmmm, Is it okay if you can guide us throughout this mission?" She politely asked." We really need the help that we can get right now."

Showtaro could only stare at the two he didn't expected that he would get a reply like that. However, he really had no choice, it was not his decision to make, but of theirs. He was only here to relay the message and guide them. He just sighed in the end and simply nodded.

"Thank you." Sarada smiled, she really appreciated the help and they really needed right now. She then gave a look at her teammate nodded at him.

Boruto grinned confidently." Alright let's do this! Dattebasa!"

As they began to leave the area along with Showtaro, there was this sudden changed in the atmosphere that the two immediately felt thereafter. They knew that they were gonna need to be alert on finding the enemy and they were entering an unknown territory.

* * *

 **(Interview)**

 **"We both knew that danger is going to be ahead of us, at this point in time, our goal is to focus on saving the rest of the team.**

 **-Boruto**

 **"We were really eager to go there to save Mama and the guys, the only thing that was really getting on our nerves is the enemy that Showtaro informed about us. Who knows what we may encounter when we get there.**

 **I just really hope that it would not led to a worsening situation."**

 **-Sarada**

 **"I really didn't expect that I would be going to a situation where I can be literally roasted (Chuckles) but hey! It's been a long time since I've been doing this thing."**

 **-Showtaro**

* * *

 **(THE INCIDENT)**

Patience was always the key to every mission's success. It depends on the situation on how much patience would a person used. As for the main members of Team seven, it seemed that Patience was a virtue on this one. An hour and a half has passed since then and they were still waiting from their current positions.

High noon was very much windy and the loud rustling of trees could be heard all over the forest. Naruto, Sakura, and Sai hid behind a set of bushes on spot where a good view of the bridge could be seen. They were tasked to wait for the event to begin and the arrival of the spy.

"Do you really think that spy jerk is gonna show up?" Naruto asked, his patience was slowly wearing thin.

Sakura gave sigh." I'm not really sure, Naruto, but we really just gonna have to wait until the spy arrives." She explained.

Naruto slightly gave an annoyed face, he really can't wait to pulverize the spy that he's gonna make him admit about the teme's whereabouts. He then felt a little boost of confidence as he began to survey the bridge and its surrounding area more to looked for the spy.

Eventually, it was Sai himself who was the first one to noticed a shadowy figure walking and emerging from the other side of the bridge. "Is that him?" He said, catching the attention of the the two.

Naruto couldn't believed his eyes as it was the real thing happening in front of his eyes. "It's really him!" He said.

Meanwhile, Sakura turned to her left and saw Yamato, who was diguised as the Hikori Puppet, finally making a move as he walked towards the bridge to meet with the spy, who was concealed in a black hooded cloak.

Silence dominated the area, the main trio continued to stay in their position as they watched the scene unfolding. Tension had risen back and was now growing in the atmosphere. For Naruto and Sakura, they could only hope that all goes well.

* * *

 **(MEANWHILE)**

Yamato knew that he was heading for danger, in fact he was used to this already there was some little confidence left in the tank for him. Whoever this spy is, he's going to make sure that he's going to get all the important information as he can from the spy.

As He walked through towards the bridge, he could feel the tension rising. His heart beating faster as he took every step. Even though, he was already an experience Shinobi, he still had that nervousness in him.

It didn't took long as he found himself walking along the wooden steps of the bridge. It was only him and wind as of now. He activated his mind as he began thinking about the words that he had to say and all words must be careful when he let it out of his mouth.

A few moments had passed as he found himself nearing the spy, who was standing in the middle of the very bridge. Yamato was at his calmest self as he took the final few steps to reached the spy.

Once he got to his position, a voice then was heard coming from the spy himself.

"It's been a long time hasn't it Sasori-san?" The Spy said as he then turned his head around to the Shinobi in disguised, hence revealing his concealed face.

To Yamato and the rest of everyone's shock, the mysterious spy's identity was finally revealed to be a very familiar face from the records.

Kabuto Yakushi, the spy and the right handed man of the Snake sanin, Orochimaru.

"How is this possible?" Yamato thought to himself. From inside the Hikori puppet, the man was much shocked. He never expected the spy's identity to be that of a known enemy from the snake.

He then secretly took a deep breath and immediately began his interrogation.

"How are you doing?" He let out his first words since.

Kabuto kept quiet for several moments before speaking up." I still feel a bit strange." He said." From when I remembered who I was when your jutsu broke, I still feel very heavy headed." He finished his sentence with a very unsure voice.

"Please, I don't have enough time, I risked my life on sneaking out of Orochimaru's hands." He added.

Yamato simply nodded through his disguised, He wasted no time of firing out his questions." I want to know the information about the exact location of his hideout and Sasuke's whereabouts." He demanded.

Kabuto sighed but smiled.

I'm very much not sure about that." He said." There are several different hideouts throughout the land, and we move out each week when one of them is ready to be abandoned." He explained." And also not to get discovered."

"But there are means of transport, so they are also very difficult to tracked down." He added.

The the disguised Yamato slightly narrowed his eyes." Where is it then?"

"So far we are in hideout from the north where a small lake is located." Kabuto replied." And we'll be moving out again in three days."

"Sasuke Uchiha is there as well."

* * *

 **(MEANWHILE)**

From the hiding spot in the bushes, the main trio was still shocked from the events that had unfolded. As of right now, the conversation from the bridge was still ongoing.

Naruto gritted his teeth in annoyance as the blonde wondered on why the man was not taking quick action yet. The target was just in front of him and he was not doing anything yet.

"How come Yamato-sensei is not doing anything!? He could've just captured him at that spot!" He exclaimed.

Sakura just sighed and gave the blonde a looked." His opponent is Kabuto." She said." Yamato-sensei really needs to be extra careful right now." She explained." As long as the target doesn't get away, everything will be fine.

"If he's too cautious, the target may get too suspicious about him." Sai spoke this time while getting the attention of the two.

Sakura then gave him a look, before turning back to the front." We'll have to believed in Yamato Sensei that he can handle it." She said, with confidence in her voice.

As the trio continued observing, they were very much unaware on what lies ahead. It was not too long that another human figure can be seen walking and emerging from the other side of the forest.

* * *

 **(COVER BLOWN)**

Tension was already reaching a higher level. It was a surprised that Yamato managed to last this long. However, time was running out as he was put on the edge of the hot seat. The trust level was dropping fast every moment. He was about to speak when the other spoke first.

"If I get discovered that I'm with you, then I'll get in trouble and be killed." Kabuto said, as the man began to look around his surrounding area.

As for Yamato, he knew that time was running out and he needed to take action and make his move on capturing him." _I've got no time to waste, I have to capture him right now."_ He thought to himself as he drew out his Kunai to start his goal.

Although, at the same time, he was gonna make his move, a sinister voice was suddenly heard laughing from behind.

"What an interesting conversation, Mind if I join?" The voice of Orochimaru said as he suddenly appeared behind Kabuto, with an evil smile.

Yamato was very much shocked to see the snake sanin in front of him." He was followed!" He exclaimed inside his mind. At this point in time, the plan that they envisioned together with the team was falling apart.

Kabuto removed his hood and immediately escape from the snakes that appeared and started to enveloped him. He jump and landed on the other side of the bridge. He then drew out his Kunai and positioned into his defensive stance.

"If you hadn't pulled out your Kunai, I might be get squeezed to death by those snakes." He said.

Yamato kept quiet as he chose to observed." Looks I'm still not yet discovered." He thought to himself. At this point in time, he doesn't really know what to do right now. He was placed in this situation where he is stuck between two blocks.

Orochimaru evilly smiled." That nice outfit takes me back Sasori." He commented.

"Did you follow Kabuto?" The diguised Shinobi asked.

The snake sannin then smirked." This kid has become very handy when you sent him to me." He said." The number of human subjects necessary for developments is over a hundred." He then continued." Thanks to his Medical Ninjutsu, I was able to reuse my subjects many times." He explained.

"You see, I still need him for that." He added.

Yamato kept quiet. He was bombarded by these information that he was not really aware off. His minds was running all over the place, He can't really take on the snake sannin and even if they teamed up on beating Orochimaru, he was still going to get his cover blown. Even if he called the trio, then Kabuto will eventually discover that he is not Sasori. It was a tough decision to make.

He really had to do one or the other right now.

As for Kabuto, he began to channel his chakra through his right hand thus forming his chakra blade. At this moment in time, everybody really thought that he was going to battle the snake sannin himself. However, he immediately go to the opposite decision as he instead, attacked the diguised that Yamato had donned hence destroying the puppet.

Yamato was put into another shocked as he immediately released himself from the destroyed armor. At the same time, Orochimaru summoned his snakes to attack the man but he quickly avoided it by replacing himself with a wood dummy clone. He landed a few distances away wondering on what had gone wrong and how did Kabuto know about his identity?

Yamato held his shoulder as a snake managed to wound him. He was now looking at both enemies.

Kabuto narrowed his eyes in question as he observed the brown haired man." Lord Orochimaru, could this be Sasori's real body?" He asked.

"No Kabuto, this is not the real Sasori, you were his subordinate for a long time and you were not aware of that?" Orochimaru asked.

Kabuto smirked." He was a broody guy, who always stay hidden behind his puppets." He said.

Yamato gritted his teeth." You were an Akatsuki Spy! You were subjected unto Sasori's Jutsu! What's the meaning of this!?" He said.

Kabuto arrogantly smiled." Lord Orochimaru broke that Jutsu a long time go, only a fool with really believed that I'm still under the jutsu." He explained.

"By the way, who are you?" He added." How come I never seen you before?" He asked." Are you one of those unknown Shinobi who is destined for a tragic fate?"

Yamato remained quiet." I have no choice right now." He thought as he tried to look for another way to solve the situation but was unable to yet again.

Orochimaru then smiled." I tell you more about this man later." He said." By the way, why don't you call those three mices hiding over that bush?" He said.

Yamato gave an annoyed look. The main plan had failed, and since the situation was getting out of hand, he raised his right hand in formed of sign to give the trio the signal.

* * *

 **(PLAN B)**

It was this time that the trio had finally saw the signal that their brown haired sensei had given. They immediately jumped from their current positons and headed for the bridge, where the main even was unfolding.

Naruto landed on the wooden foundation of the bridge, with anger and furiousness surrounding and overwhelming him. He gritted his teeth as he was finally in front of the man who corrupted his teammate.

Orochimaru was smiling, he was a bit glad to see the blonde, who has now grown up." Looks like the nine tails kid is here too." He said.

"I wonder on who is stronger now between you and Sasuke?"

Tension was rising in the atmosphere, the wind grew and blew stronger ever before. A small portion of crimson chakra began appear around the blonde. There were also hints of change in his appearance as his nails grew longer and his fangs started to appear in his teeth.

The power of the Kyuubi No Youku was emerging yet again through him.

The rest of the team turned their attention to him especially Sakura, who was more worried than ever. She had this many times before in the past and still it felt as if it was new all the time. The power was just overwhelming and evil.

As for Naruto, his mind was slowly descending into rage." Give Sasuke back!" He growled.

Kabuto just smiled." The term "Giving back" is not the right or polite way to say it." He explained as he adjusted his glasses." Your reasoning is off."

"Sasuke-kun came to us in his own decision, and for a man who is obsessed with power, I must say, He is one of kind." He added." So please you need to resign yourself from that."

"Will you stop it four eyes!?" Sakura then exclaimed. She had enough of this mess.

"You don't know how Naruto feels about his friend!" She exclaimed." So stop acting cold on everything or else!"

There was no response from Kabuto himself. He just evilly grinned as he knew if he continued to fire insults and offensive words, they may caused the blonde to self destruct and attacked his own teammates.

Orochimaru then grinned." If you want to know more about Sasuke, then I guess I'll give you guys a chance." He said as he began to prepare himself from onslaught." That is you'll have to force the information out of me and-" He was about continue his sentence when he was suddenly interrupted.

Naruto had been finally taken over by the uncontrollable power within him. He was enveloped by the crimson chakra and all of his humanity was fading away. It didn't took too long when the kyuubified blonde suddenly jumped from his position and charged towards the snake sannin in full speed which everyone hasn't seen before.

Orochimaru immediately evaded the attacked against him as he managed to jumped in time but the forced of the crimson chakra was so powerful that it managed to damage his face revealing a bit of the identity that he currently possessed.

You really are showing the improvements as Jinchurikki host." He commented." But let's really see if you really are stronger than my Sasuke."

He gave an insulting laugh.

Naruto gritten his teeth and growled." Like he belongs to you asshole!" He exclaimed as the powerful crimson chakra around him rage even more and released hostile energy as it began to formed into three tails.

As for the rest of everyone, all of them knew that things were about go down.

* * *

 **(CATCHING UP)**

 **(LATER ON)**

it was a very loud explosion coming from the bridge that really alerted the other trio even more as they raced against time and hurried towards the bridge. Worry was growing inside of them, especially for Boruto and Sarada who could only think of what has happened. They just hope that they weren't that late.

The forest was a major part of their for delaying their time for a bit. Somehow, they almost got lost from their finding they way out. Although, they were able to locate the correct path and continue on.

Boruto dashed through his way as he could feel a powerful malevolent energy at the bridge. A very familiar energy that he had face before back in the previous mission. He could only hope that his young dad was alright, he tried not to think about the ending this time, but there was a thought of that the enemy was somehow responsible.

Sarada raced through the forest along with her blonde teammate. She had the same feeling about that Malevolent energy that overwhelmed the forest. It was no doubt that the energy belonged to Kurama. The question was who or what could have caused it?

Showtaro was breathing back and forth, he was wondering on why these kids were really that fast, it was just too new for him and he might stopped at any moment, due to exhaustion. Luckily, Sarada graciously offered him to stay on her shoulder throughout the journey. The Duck really needs a rest after this.

There was no time for conversation throughout their journey, as time passes by, they were getting closer to their destination. After a few moments, they could finally see the opening and way to the bridge.

Boruto, who was the one ahead of the two gave it a little boost towards the bridge. He just couldn't the feeling that something has already happened while they were away.

His hope soon faded away by the time he got to his destination.

* * *

 **(TOO LATE?)**

Destruction was the only thing in front of their own eyes as he found himself looking at a destroyed bridge that was somehow sliced in half. Traces of the malevolent energy was still there but there was no trace or whereabouts on the rest the team.

Boruto gritted his teeth in anger. He refused to think that he were too late on arrival but of now, the chances were very low. The blonde then surveyed the area and the bridge itself to find any clues on where could the rest have gone too. There were thoughts of the Kyuubi killing them all but he didn't bother to think about that.

Sarada and Showtaro arrived a few moments after the blonde reached the area. They were greeted by the destruction caused by a familiar being.

"What happened here?" Sarada spoke for the first time.

"Are we too late?" Showtaro, who was on the raven haired girl's shoulder asked.

Sarada shook her head as she also refused to think about the situation. She did not hesitate as she joined the blonde to search for clues on the team's whereabouts. So far the only available clue that she can find is a small portion of blood that was laying on the wooden floor of the destroyed bridge.

"Oh no." Sarada thought to herself as she examined the blood." Someone must've got wounded or..." The raven haired teen cringed and shook her head in denial. There was no time for grieving or wondering.

She then continued to investigate the area and after a few moments, a new valid clue was finally discovered by none other than Showtaro himself.

"Look over there!" Showtaro exclaimed as the guide pointed towards to sky.

Both of the teens looked up to see crimson chakra floating on the sky. It could only mean one thing, that the rest of the team's whereabouts were just nearby.

Boruto wasted no time as he beckoned the two move forward towards that certain location were the crimson chakra resided. The blonde teen then left his current position as he headed to the forest once more.

* * *

 **(SHORT MEETING)**

Sarada and Showtaro nodded as they also continued their way. However, there was one thing that suddenly and unexpectedly stopped them from leaving their current position. In a form of a male voice, which said:

" **I wouldn't go there if I were you guys."**

Sarada stopped her tracks as she then turned around only to be greeted by a mysterious white cloaked person standing from behind her." Are you the one that caused this!?" The raven haired girl then exclaimed as she position herself into her battle stance.

Showtaro was very much shocked to find out that they were discovered by the enemy. The only problem right now is that he doesn't have a Plan B.

The white cloaked person just stood there silently as he didn't do anything. He continued to observed the girl and thoughts started to entering." Who is she? I never seen her before." He thought to himself.

Sarada kept her guard. She was alert for any hostile action that this person could do at any moment." Who are you!?" She exclaimed for one more time.

A few moments of silence then took over, in fact there weren't any signs that the white cloaked person was going to attack or start a fight. He just stood there as a small smile formed underneath his hood." Those Yakisoba Buns were delicious weren't they?"

Sarada then gritted her teeth in annoyance." What the heck are you talking about!?" She said, not even realizing the point that the hooded person was telling her.

A small chuckle was then heard coming from the cloaked person. He stood there for a few moments before finally disappearing in front the girl in a blinked of an eye.

Silence then took over once again, for a few moments, Sarada wondered on what had just happened before finally remembering her goal. Showtaro had the same thoughts but he was wondering on why did the enemy didn't do anything. It was just a mystery.

Without wasting anymore time, the two left the area and headed to the forest to catch up with the blonde.

* * *

 **(THE ROOKIES)**

Destruction was the only thing that she could only see in front of her eyes. Since her blonde teammate succumbed to the power of the Kyuubi no Youko, there was nothing that she could do but watch the events unfolding.

Sakura along with Yamato watched as a large part of the forest had been destroyed and turned into a huge crater. In that very crater stood, Naruto, who's humanity had been taken over by the Kyuubi's will stood in the middle as it pummeled the snake sannin and sent him flying away towards the forest.

Sai was nowhere to be found, as of now, it was only her, Yamato, and Kabuto who stood at the crater and near the Kyuubified blonde.

The pink haired girl could feel her legs shaking and heart was racing. A long amount of time has passed and still she couldn't get closer to the blonde because of the battle between the latter and the snake sannin. Her green eyes observed and mainly focus on her teammate.

He looked very much different from before. Since the fourth tail emerged from him, he had been transformed into some kind of crimson humanoid creature, with a demonic wide gaping white eyes and mouth.

It was something out of people's worst nightmare. Kabuto could only describe it as the most demonic creature that he had ever seen. An evil smile formed around his lips." Will you look at that." He commented." I never knew that he would go this far, allowing himself to become the demon he fears the most, just to save Sasuke."

There was really no hope right now on stopping him. He had caused so much destruction that all of their confidence were instantly depleted. Only a foolish person could go near towards the Jinchurikki host.

Yamato just stood there along with the pink haired teen. He was blaming himself for not doing anything or acting fast. Why did he allowed this to happened? What had gone wrong?

Sakura was in the verge of tears, her mind was loaded with thoughts about her teammate. She remembered him as this good person determined to save his loved ones and not this person who fully embraces wrath and anger. It didn't take too long for the pink haired teen as she left her current position and ran towards the unrecognizable blonde in hopes of stopping him.

"Naruto, please this is not you!" She was exclaimed as loud she can, in order for him to get her attention.

Many will think it's a big mistake for her to attempt a move a like that, but this was for her teammate and she needed to bring him back as possible. Tears were flowing from her eyes as she took every step towards her teammate, and by the time she got nearer, it was already too late.

The person in front of her was not Naruto anymore, it was a different person and it will attacked anyone in sight. It immediately noticed the pink haired teen approaching and launched one of its tales to attack led her in full speed.

Sakura was caught off guard as she froze and stared at the huge crimson tail headed for her. She could only closed her eyes as she braced herself for the attack.

In that moment in time, the world around her slowed down, the last thing that she saw was the crimson tail that was mean't to pierce her skin. Although, it did not happened as she expected but she did felt someone grabbing her from the side.

As huge chakra tail was about to near the girl, a flash of lightning suddenly appeared from nowhere and towards the girl herself, which rescued her away from the chakra tail that crushed the ground instead.

Sakura opened her eyes to see a glimpse of blonde hair. She thought it was Naruto at first, but it wasn't. The two white patches on both his cheeks was proof that it was the rookie, Bolt Kazaki, who rescued her instead.

Everyone was caught by surprised as a newcomer had entered the scene. Yamato was widened his eyes in shocked to see the rookie, who camw out incredible speed and swept the girl away from harm. Kabuto had the same reaction but more calmer, he adjusted his glasses yet again to see if this was real and it really was.

"Who is that kid?"

* * *

 **(MEANWHILE)**

Boruto safely landed on the ground, while carrying the pink haired girl, who was still in shocked. The blonde sighed in relief and took the little time he had to breath in and out.

"That was a close one." He muttered before turning to the pink haired teen.

Sakura just stared at the rookie in surprised. She wondered on what had just happened right now. It was so fast that she didn't knew what had transpired when she closed her eyes.

"Are you alright, Sakura-san?" Her thoughts were interrupted as the rookie asked.

The pink haired teen was speechless. She didn't knew what to say at this point but instead just nod at the blonde. At the same time, her eyes widened as behind the blonde was her Kyuubified teammate, who was now charging towards them. She was about to opened her mouth to warn him but suddenly cut along the way.

 **"Shannaro!** " A voice of teenage girl could be heard yelling.

 ***BOOOOM***

It was then followed by a huge shockwave that immediately hit the Kyuubi which sent it flying away towards the other end of the crater, and gushed of wind that passed by them.

Boruto gave a smile as he knew that a certain raven haired teen had just arrived in time for their next gig.

"Perfect timing, Sarada-chan." Boruto commented as he turned to left to greet his teammate, who was the main caused of that shockwave.

Sarada arrived at the scene with a literal bang on the ground. She stood on the spot where she punched the ground which caused a shockwave that headed towards the attacking Kyuubi. "Sorry Lord Seventh." She muttered to herself before rushing to the their side.

Showtaro also arrived along with the raven haired teen, but this time, he took a different path as headed straight towards a certain direction and unexpectedly hit a certain Kabuto Yakushi at the back of his head causing the man be sent away flying toa distance.

"Sorry kid, My bad." He chuckled as those were the only words that he could say as of now.

"Are you two alright?" That was the first thing she said when got to them. She immediately checked her young mom to see if she sustained any serious injuries but so far, she was in one piece.

Boruto gave a sigh, he then gave her teammate a nod before standing up and walking towards a certain direction to face his Kyuubified old man. Sarada was about to say something when blonde gave her a smile which assured her that he'll be alright.

* * *

 **(A LITTLE WALK)**

Everyone carefully watched as the rookie slowly walked up towards the Kyuubi, who was growling in anger for being hit by that shockwave.

Boruto was calm and collected as he didn't bother the risk that he would take. Despite the protest from Yamato himself, the blonde ignored it and went on his way. He knew that he was carrying the team on his shoulders and he promised to himself that will not disappoint.

He knew where this was going to.

"So you're heading for your forth tail huh?" Boruto calmly asked, as he walked along the dangerous path ahead of him.

The Kyuubi didn't said a word, it just stared directly and intently at him before giving malicing growl.

"I just really don't get why you kept that head of yours always hot." The blonde said, as he readied himself for the main event." But of course, I won't let you remain in that way or another."

The Kyuubi growled yet again as this time, it charged towards the blonde in hopes of dismantling him to pieces in front of everyone.

Boruto stopped his tracks as he stared face to face with the Kyuubi. He closed his eyes as he took a deep breath before opening it again secretly activating and revealing his Jougan. A confident smile formed around his lips. Instead of charging towards his Kyuubified dad, he just waited and clapped his hands multiple times.

"Come on Kyuubi, Let's go for a little walk!"

* * *

 **(CHAPTER END)**

 **AN: Thank you for reading the chapter:)**


	57. Arc 3 Phase 2: Tenchi Bridge Part 3

**don't own Naruto. Kishimoto Does.**

 **Author's note: Hey there Readers!, Looks like we've finally entered Arc 3! I Hope you guys enjoy! I would also like to thank you guys for the Reviews. Favorites, and follows :)**

 **The last several weeks was very much busy for me. Exams were the main challenge and I didn't have the time to write and finish the chapter. Brainstorming for ideas was also a challenge, because of things such as Writer's Block and Burnout. But putting those aside,I was able to complete the chapter.**

 **Still, I haven't found a Beta Editor yet, so I'm really alone on this one.**

 **Take note: This is the third and final part of the Tenchi Bridge Incident.**

 **Expect some grammar and spelling mistakes along the way.**

 **Thank you for Understanding :)**

* * *

 **Arc 3: Phase 2**

 **Chapter 22: Tenchi Bridge Part 3**

The world was slowing down for the Uzumaki teen, Boruto already expected on what was gonna happen next as he stared at the fourth tailed Kyuubi who was in the midst of charging towards him in full speed. He just stood there with a smile as he continued to slightly taunt the beast, through his eyes the Kyuubi was finally nearing him, not too long it reached its claws to him as a means to grab and crush him to death.

In the midst of all of this, the blonde took a deep breath, and immediately evaded the attack, his world began to speed up thus taking him back to reality. A loud crash was heard as the Kyuubi surprisingly lost tracked of the disappearing blonde and instead hit nothing but the air, causing him to slide on the ground.

The Kyuubi growled in anger as it then turned to see the its blonde opponent running around the area. The teen wasn't alone anymore and this time there were a number clones with him. It immediately jumped from its current position and continued to charge towards its target yet again.

 **"Kage Bushin No Jutsu!"**

Boruto immediately formed the familiar handsign summoning several clones with him after he evaded the Kyuubi's first attack. As of now, he was still at the first stage of his plan to end the beast's chaos.

The idea was similar to his previous encounter with the Kyuubi, but this time in a higher level. He knew that he was going to need a lot of clones, a more bigger portion of chakra, strategies, and more importantly, the precious time that he had to carefully managed right now.

There were many conclusions and ways on how will this ordeal end, but for the blonde himself, there was only one way to end the ordeal very smoothly and he won't be doing it alone this time.

"Alright guys listen!" He exclaimed and announced to his clones." We're gonna spread out once The Kyuubi gets closer to us." He added, while the rest of the clones simply nodding at him like he was some captain.

It didn't took long enough when the Kyuubi drew nearer, its hands also grew bigger and longer as it attempted to stretch its hands to grab the blonde, who was in the middle of the pack.

"Now Dattebassa!" He shouted as his team of clones immediately splitted up and headed to different directions.

The main goal was for the rest to roamed around the crater in an attempt to confused the wild Kyuubi, and that the plan would tamper its mind by giving it a hard time to distinguish on which of the blondes is the real one. It was a plan devised by Boruto earlier before, the first part was a not a huge problem for him, but the second and third part were going to be tricky.

As the first part of his plan was taking place, it soon turned into somekind of royal rumble adrenaline rush. Boruto felt as if he was placed into this huge open field arena with a huge monster that was mean't to kill him, although the blonde himself lived out in situations much like this.

The clones split and spread out to different areas of the crater, all of them began to run in different directions at a fast pace and they began to doing eveything that they can to distract the beast while the original blonde searched for a way to tamed kyuubified old man by using the paper seal that he secretly took from his brown haired sensei.

The original blonde stood, holding the lone piece of paper seal, in a blind spot as he observed the ongoing scene, so far his clones were doing well on the distraction part while the kyuubi was turning its head all over the place, it seemed that the beast was on its way to dizziness.

Boruto narrowed his eyes as he then dashed his way towards the four tailed beast in full lightning speed. His was not going to waste time and was eager to end this quickly as possible. He held the paper seal carefully in his hand as he neared the beast. He was a bit suprised that it was a bigger than its usual self now. Does that mean if it grew another tail, it will also grow bigger at the same time?

* * *

 **(INTERVIEW)**

 **"At that point in time, I was pretty much determined to end the situation as soon as possible. Having been face Kyuubified dad before and knowing the consequences of facing an early entrance to heaven, I really made sure to myself that I'm not going to go on another long roller coaster ride again.**

 **"At least that's what I wanted to do during that time, but I did expected it to be different from what was before."**

 **-Boruto**

* * *

 **(A SURPRISING TWIST)**

As the teenage blonde neared his destination, he immediately jumped and headed straight towards the Kyuubi. He then raised up his hand holding that paper seal as he went for the beast's head. He secretly thanked his little sister for giving him that idea, which came from a movie where the protagonist failed to eliminated the villain by piercing the shoulder instead of going for the head.

Boruto felt the victory getting closer as his hand reached towards the Kyuubi's forehead, in a matter of moments, he was already closed to its crimson skin. By the time, he was about to make his final move, something unexpected happened right in front of him.

The four tailed Kyuubi broke from its confusion as it suddenly turned to face the blonde directly. It gave a sinister smile as it then immediately grabbed the blonde by the hand and at the same time with its tails.

Boruto widened his eyes in surprised as he quickly reacted and formed a handsign and disappeared in a puff smoke thus a wooden log replaced him thereafter. The wooden log would eventually get shattered into pieces by the powerful crimson tails of the Kyuubi, who then turned around to see a surprised blonde staring at him.

Boruto safely landed on the ground and was now full in thoughts." How's this even possible?" He asked himself. It was the most unexpected surprised that he ever seen so far. It was impossible for the beast to be aware on what was really happening, it was general knowledge that it was supposed to be acting very wild much like an animal.

The moment of thoughts suddenly ended as the Kyuubi charged in full speed towards the blonde, with another intent of killing him. Boruto immediately snapped back to reality as he quickly evaded a strike by the beast, who took the offensive side.

The Kyuubi began to attacked the blonde with a series of multiple of moves, it first gave a multiple strong strikes by using its sharp claws in hopes wounding the blonde in every part of his body. Boruto took the defensive side as he evaded the Kyuubi's sharp claws from scratching his skin. It was slowly turning into a Taijutsu match.

The next step for the Kyuubi's attacked was to spread all of its four tails to trap and grab the blonde at the same time. However, the teen was one step ahead as he was able to avoid the tails by taking a leap away from the deadly spot. He then summoned several clones once again in a means of decoys to avoid the tails from touching him again.

The Kyuubi was yet again furious as it immediately went to its next plan and charge at the blonde, smashing every clone that stood in its way. It then headed straight towards the teen with a combination of both steps.

Boruto anticipated this as he evaded the large crimson chakra in the form of a fist that smashed the ground instead, creating a small crater. It was followed by multiple attempts but the teen was just quick on his feet and was able to immediately prevent it from happening by one single move.

The Jougan was then activated it secretly created a small black hole which swallowed the giant crimson chakra hand, incapacitating the Kyuubi for a short period of time, which gave the Uzumaki teen the opportunity to make his turn.

Boruto narrowed his eyes as he felt that it was finally the time to make his move. So he did, as he charged at the incapacitated Kyuubi, he drew out the paper seal again as he quickly shoved it on the Kyuubi's forehead with force.

* * *

 **(MEANWHILE)**

Everyone was pretty much amazed on how this rookie handled the ordeal. Reactions were released from the likely individuals who were acting as the witnesses.

Kabuto was shocked to see the arrival of a newcomer that he haven't met before. Questions were forming around his mind about this newcomer and he wondered if they were a part of this team. However, he soon thought about the snake sannin, who previously pummeled and throwned away by the Kyuubi. He eventually then decided to leave the scene with a goal of searching him throughout the forest.

He gave an arrogant smile as he slowly turned around and started walking away, however the smile on his face would soon disappear as he felt tapped on his shoulder.

"Where do you think you're going?"

Kabuto then turned around only to face a certain raven haired teen, who was giving him a smile, which he cannot figure if it was fake or genuine. Soon his pride took over him once again and he gave a smirked.

"And who are you supposed to be?" He sarcastically asked, which was really a rudely move and he wasn't aware that he was going to pay for what he did.

Sarada didn't respond and continued to smile, although inside, the girl was pretty much pissed and wanted to sent the man a gift before he leaves them.

Kabuto gave a confused look before being iniated when the girl suddenly kicked him in the nuts." Oof!" He exclaimed as he held his nuts in pain, he tried to walk but really can't do it and it was already too late.

Sarada smirked as she then removed the man's glasses, drop it on the ground, and kicked it, sending it away to a certain distance.

Kabuto was helpless and irritated at the same time. he was humiliated by a girl and yet he can't do much anything about it, because he just got a taste of his own medicine. He then decided to fed the scene again but ended up tripping and falling to the ground.

"Serves Him right!" Showtaro spoke this time as he gave his own comment. So far he was enjoying the adventure. He might stick along for awhile.

* * *

 **(A PERSPECTIVE)**

It was during this time thoughts and doubts had entered the Pink haired girl's mind. Sakura wondered if these two were really rookies to begin with. She was witnessing a nearly impossible feat happening in front of her and all she can do was to watch.

She then turned her head towards her brown haired sensei, who pretty much had the same reaction as her.

Yamato was pretty much shocked in every way. His eyes were wide eye in disbelief to see a rookie barely in the ranks of a standard Shinobi, taking on a powerful being and emerging as the victor. It was impossible for any person like the rookie to be able to do that.

He was also surprised to find his paper seal at the hands of the rookie and wondered on how did the teen managed to take the thing away from him.

As he continued to observed the battle, he felt a sudden urged to help the rookie right away. From what was happening right now, it seemed that things were not over yet. The paper seal was the only the first part of the resealing process this time.

There was indeed a reason on why he should step up this time.

* * *

 **(RESEALED)**

The Kyuubi screamed in pain as it started to become more wild and aggressive than ever. The paper seal did took its effect on the beast, but it didn't completely resealed him as there was one more step to do before the whole process ends.

Boruto was taken by surprised as the Kyuubi continued its ways by aggressively charging at him once more. It soon began to unleashed every form of attack against him, there was no chance of escaping this time around as the blonde could only braced himself for another round of its madness.

Although, in that moment in time, something unexpected interrupted the madness. The Kyuubi was suddenly caught by a surprised as a large wooden log emerged from the ground, hitting it directly in the face and sending it to several distances.

Boruto widened his eyes as he then turned his attention to a certain brown haired man, who finally arrived at the scene." Yamato-sensei!" He exclaimed in surprised.

Yamato, with seriousness and determination, formed a handsign as more wood emerged from the ground and immediately overwhelmed the crimson beast. The wood incapacitated the being to the point that it would never wrecked havoc again. Following that move, the brown haired man formed another handsign.

 **"Hokage Shiki Jinjun Jutsu: Kakuan Nitten Shuishu!**

The man exclaimed as he aimed his hand and palm towards the beast. He then quickly charged in full speed as he placed his hand on its chest and soon, it began to glow thus the jutsu taking immediate effect on the Kyuubi.

* * *

 **(LIMBO)**

It was nothing but just pure darkness in front of his eyes. Naruto felt as if he had been stucked in this neverending limbo for a hundred years, it was just himself and his thoughts who were present at the moment. The blonde himself can't remember on how many times did fell victim to the Kyuubi's power.

He always knew from the beginning that it was a kind of an idiotic move for him to submit to its will and as a result, he was forced to watch the destruction and havoc in front of his very eyes as the Kyuubi gained control of him yet again. He also blamed his emotions for all of this, specifically his limited temper that would always get him into trouble.

Negativity was not too far away, since he was a little kid, he often found himself dwelling in the insults and backstabbing voices of the people, which till to this day, haunted him and even to the point that he would get taunts from the furball himself.

 **"Without me you're nothing boy!"**

 **"You did a good thing allowing me to share my power to you."**

 **"Accept my will and together we will crush them!"**

Recent taunts like these still ran around his thoughts. The blonde felt a little guilt that it was somehow true, that he was still here and surviving because of that arrogant fox. He almost thought that his two and half year training trip with his ero-sensei didn't anything much to help him improve.

Naruto looked down as he stopped his endless walking for awhile for a rest. His thoughts directed him to the current situation happening in right now. Concerned soon entered and he thought about his teammates, on how were they handling the chaos that never mean't to happen. The two rookies, Bolt and Sarada, how were they? it was embarassing for him to reveal too much of this, The destruction.

Were there ever wil be a way out of this?

The blonde closed his eyes for a moment as he attempted to calm himself from his desperation. He really needed to find a way out of here and get what was taken from him. He won't be staying here for longer.

At the same time, a small bright light suddenly appeared and shone from a few distances away. A few moments later, footsteps were then heard finally catching the teen's full attention.

Naruto immediately looked up towards the source of the light. He narrowed his eyes and saw a human figure standing near the light itself. There was a bit of confusion that took over for a little while, although, the teen felt an urged to head towards to the small light itself and he continued as he did.

He took the steps towards the light as his vision became clear getting a good look of the human figure, which was revealed to be a man, with spiky short hair, donning which was somekind of village leader outfit, the man also had a white cape on his back with mysterious characters in red written on it. He didn't get the complete catch but he was able to get an idea on what the characters written on the man's white cape says.

The Kanji: **"Seventh** " was written on the white cape.

Naruto widened his eyes as mixed emotions of confusion and surprised took charge. He began wonder about the man that he saw, it was impossible for the man to be that of the Seventh Hokage, because there was no such thing as a Seventh Hokage in the first place, it was only his Tsunade- Baachan, who is currently the reigning Fifth Hokage.

It was just to far fetched and unbelievable to begin with.

Although, Despite these thoughts overwhelming him, Naruto still continued and headed towards the light, he doesn't really know on why he was doing this but it felt as if he was doing the right thing and he didn't sense any hostile presence from the light and the mysterious man himself. As of now, his goal was to get out of here and return back to the real world.

The blonde immediately hurried and sped up as he noticed that the light was slowly getting farther. From walking to now running, the teen was on his way back. He dared to never looked back." Hey wait!" He exclaimed towards the man, who was seemed to be walking to the light.

The man didn't heed his call causing the teen to shout again, and this time he was able to send the message. From his point of view, the mysterious man stopped his tracks, causing the teenage blonde to also stop his hurrying.

Naruto stopped his tracks as he found himself staring at the mystery man from a few distances away. He was able to get a full good look of him and the details that he first noticed were the man's blonde hair and the presence that he projected. It was powerful yet familiar.

"Hey! is this the way out?" Naruto asked." I really need to get back to my teammates, they need me!" He added, although there was still no response from the mystery man.

Naruto was on the verge of being furious and emotional, He was indeed serious about this and will do anything that he can just to get back to the real world. He was so desperate right now, but the man's presence immediately calmed him down and assured him that everything was going to be alright.

As Naruto took a few steps closer to the light, the man suddenly but slowly turned his head towards him, but at the same time when the man turned, the small light suddenly grew bigger and brightened up overwhelming the teen and his whole surroundings.

The last thing that he knew was that there was a familiar voice that called his name.

 **"Hang on Naruto!** "

* * *

 **(RESEALED)**

The Kyuubi screamed in pain at the same time as it found itself and its power being resealed once again. It crimson skin slowly faded away as it receded back to human form.

It didn't took long as traces of the Kyuubi completely vanished and a certain blonde teen stood right before them, beaten, exhausted and was on the verge of collapsing.

Boruto reacted and quickly caught his young dad from fully falling to the ground. Sakura and Sarada also hurried to assist them.

"Are you guys alright?" Sarada and Sakura asked in unison by the time they arrived at their destination.

Boruto gave an assuring smile." Yeah, a bit beaten up but I'm alright!" He replied with a slight chuckle.

Both girls sighed in relief as they finally let out the pressure that was building inside of them, especially Sakura who the most worried. She didn't knew on how many times she already apologized to Naruto and also to the two rookies.

Boruto and Sarada were quick to understand and instead gave the support towards the pink haired teen. Considering, what has happened, it was impossible for her to continue her job as a guide since she was almost traumatized. She needed a deserved rest.

As for Yamato, he was still in disbelief as he observed the two rookies, especially the blonde himself. That speed he just witnessed, it was somehow familiar to him, like a memory from the past.

It was not too long that Naruto finally regained his consciousness, he was still weak and cringing because of the pain he is feeling right now. The resealing process was indeed a heavy one for him.

Boruto sighed in relief." Welcome Back Naruto!" He said, while giving a small smile.

A still exhausted Naruto gave a little chuckle before raising his right hand to do a thumbs up.

On the other hand, Yamato took a deep breath before clearing his throat." I think we should move on from here as soon as possible." He explained." Orochimaru might be still around in this area." He added.

" _Sai is also missing."_

There was silence that took over for a brief moment, when everybody realized about the teen's recent disappearance, they immediately get their heads straight as they quickly prepared to leave the area.

Sakura and Sarada assisted the still recovering Naruto, helping him back up on his feet and followed their brown haired sensei while Showtaro and Boruto took the position as a look out for any suspecting enemies nearby. So far, there weren't any.

"Looks like we're okay." Showtaro commented. He hasn't sense any presence nearby or in this whole area.

Boruto simply nodded but kept his guard up, there was something telling him that he should be ready for what's ahead in this mission. During his battle against his Kyuubified dad, his jougan reacted and directed him to a familiar white cloaked figure standing and observing from one of the spots near the forest.

* * *

 **(INTERVIEW)**

 **"There was something telling me that those cloaked persons were the ones behind this mess. I just got that feeling since then. I am not really sure on how will I locate or find them but when I get the opportunity, I'm gonna make sure that I'll get every real information possible."**

 **-Boruto**

* * *

 **(PERSPECTIVE 2)**

Sai couldn't believed on what he had seen just awhile ago. It was something that he has deemed a feat difficult to achieved. He had witnessed the indestructible power of the Kyuubi No Youko that battled the Snake sannin and created a big mess in the form of a huge crater.

Since the beginning of the Tenchi bridge incident, the young member of root decided to secretly leave and stay low from the main group. He chose a certain spot where he can't been seen but have a good view of what was happening.

From that then on he began to watched and observed throughout the event. He knew from the start that things were going to get down because of the failures of the team's plan. It almost risked the life of Sakura, who almost got hit by the deadly crimson tails, and Naruto, who had been blinded by anger, thus letting the power of the Kyuubi taking over him.

To be honest, he really didn't care or bother about them. He cared for the mission that he was assigned to do so by his superior.

The biggest surprised of the event was that of the two rookies, who suddenly arrived and appeares as if they were the ones to save the day, and they really did it.

He took note of the rookie Bolt Kazaki, who was the one that suddenly appeared in the moment where the pink haired teen was on tge verge of being smash by the crimson tails. He took note of that incredible speed, a speed that was difficult for any Shinobi to achieve and the way he handled the situation as if he had been in this things before. Was He really a rookie?

The second one was the raven haired rookie, Sarada Inoue, who seemed to have that freakish strength that really reminded him of the pink haired teen. Where they related somehow? Or Was it just a coincidence?

There were so many questions still left in his mind, but in the middle of his thoughts, he noticed something strange happening on the middle of the crater itself. It was a snake that has slowly taken form of a human, who was none other than the Snake Sannin himself.

Sai's lips slowly formed into a smile." Looks like He's survived." He thought to himself aa he then stood up from his sitting position.

This was the moment that he had been anticipating for. The only thing that he has to do now is to approach him in a non hostile manner or in a way for the snake sannin not to get suspicious with him.

It doesn't matter on what was gonna happened next, as long as he succeeds on getting the final way that will eventually lead him to one certain Sasuke Uchiha.

It's always been a part of his plan.

* * *

 **(PERSPECTIVE 3)**

It was definitely something new to the game. When he had been informed of these new individuals that weren't supposed be in these events, he was surprised and disbelief took over immediately.

He learned that these individuals had been changing things since the start of the Kazekage mission and they may pose as a potential threat to his superior's plans. The previous mission was supposed to be manipulated as planned but, because of their interference and presence, a life that was supposed to be taken away had been saved.

The report and news really alerted everyone in the organization and changes in the plans were starting to take shape after that.

However, He still needed time to observed and if possible, know more information about the newcomers. They could really be useful people in the future.

As for now, He will continue to follow them in their journey for awhile.

* * *

 **(A LITTLE REST)**

Hours had already passed since the incident took place. The team had been traversing through the forest in hopes finding the next stage of the mission. So far all of them were pretty much exhausted and had taken the chance to rest as they set up a temporary camp in the middle of the quiet forest.

Before that, Yamato had called out the team and announced to them that even though Sai had gone rogue, the mission will still continue no matter what. It wasn't a complete surprised for the rest, they were in the same page and they were gonna have to work together for this.

Naruto sat and rested under a tree, fully giving himself to relaxation as he let the pressure go. He could feel every muscle in his body aching, and could only cringed as a response. The blonde was currently being treated by none other than his pink haired teammate, who was healing the minor wounds that he sustained during the battle.

It was actually a quiet time for the both of them. The two were in their own thoughts, especially Sakura, who's mind kept repeating the image of Kyuubi. It was an event that she would described as "Frightening". The experience was honestly traumatic for her. Although, when she laid her eyes on the blonde, it was a whole different look.

Naruto's smile was the only one that was keeping her from going full crazy. She had known him for years and the Uzumaki positiveness was still there to assure her that everything was gonna be alright.

"Sakura-chan?"

The pink haired teen snapped from her thoughts the moment her blonde teammate spoke." Yes Naruto?" She said, while slowly turning her eyes towards him.

"Are you okay?" Naruto asked, his voice filled with worry and concern.

Sakura gave a small smile." Yes, I'm fine." She said." It's just that you're really getting heavy nowadays, you really need to slow down the ramen." She also gave a little chuckle.

Naruto sighed in relief." I'm glad to that you're alright." He said as his face slowly turned into sadness." But listen, I'm really sorry for what happened just now, I guess I've done a lot of damage."

It was an ongoing thing since the beginning, Naruto considered himself as a type of person that would often apologized if he ever accidentally or unintentionally caused harm to anyone or anything. He was aware of the power deep inside him and he was helpless when it took over him.

"To be honest, I also really wanted to apologized to the two kids for my recent behaviour, although they're not here as of now." He added.

Sakura was a surprised to hear those words coming from the blonde's mouth. It was like a much more mature response that she ever heard from him and when her teammate spoke, she thought it was a mature or older person talking to her. What in the world is happening to her right now? or Was she just hearing things differently?

"Sakura-chan are sure your're okay?"

Naruto asked again, it was the second time that his teammate was staring in the blank air. This did nothing but raised his concerns even more.

Sakura shook her head yet again." Yeah, I'm really fine." She replied." Maybe, I'm just really tired that's all." She gave a small grin.

Naruto raised his eyebrow in suspicion before sighing." Well, there's something that I would really like to tell you." He said." And please keep it as a secret." He added.

Sakura nodded in understanding." Sure I will, what's it all about?" She asked, while packing up her medical aid kit.

Naruto took deep breath before finally opening his mouth." Well, during the battle and when I was being brought back to normal, I found myself in this darkness." He said.

"Darkness?" Sakura raised both eyebrows as she asked.

Naruto simply nodded." It's like you got put into this place, which is nothing but black all over, and you wonder if you're gonna be staying there forever" He explained as he attempted to remember the memories from before.

After a few moments, He then continued." It was probably an entire eternity when I was there." He then looked down." Although, if it were not for this mysterious man in a white cape, I would probably never see the world again." He finished his sentence.

Sakura raised both eyebrows in surprised." A man wearing a white cape?" She said, she was a bit confused yet puzzled to know more." How did he exactly saved you?" She added.

"Well, I really can't remember all the details but, I think it was him that showed me the light, which I followed and then brought me back." Naruto replied. He would then go on to explained the little details that he noticed this man wore a white cape that has a red flame pattern around the hem, is held together by a red rope, and has the kanji that said " **Seventh"** , although he had never seen his full appearance, but only just the back.

"That's all I can remember." Naruto finished his story as he took another deep breath again.

Sakura just stared at her blonde teammate with a mixed of surprised and disbelief. She knew that it was a testimony coming from him but it probably had to be the most wildest and strangest testimonies that she had ever heard.

When she thought about this person that saved the blonde, she immediately thought of the Kanji **"Seventh"** that was on the back of the cape. It could only mean't that it was some kind of guardian angel that took the form of blonde's dreams of being Hokage. But, who knows? It was hard to make conclusions as of now.

As Sakura was about to speak, her eyes caught something from one of nearby bushes. By the time she finished packing up, she immediately stood up and went to that particular spot.

Naruto blinked a couple of times as he observed the pink haired teen heading towards one of the bushes." Did you find something?" He asked, he assumed that the his teammate noticed something of an object that would be possibly deemed as important.

As for Sakura, she continued to investigate the spot and finally found the object that her eyes spotted. It was actually a brownish white small bag and it contained something from the inside.

She then continued to examine the bag until the moment she realize that the bag was somehow very familiar, which it really did, because it belong to a certain black haired teen in the form of Sai.

The question is how could he dropped something valuable so carelessly?

* * *

 **(MEANWHILE)**

It was calm scene in a certain area in the forest. A small stream of flowing water in the area itself was present and acted as a line between the two sides. The trio consisting of Boruto, Sarada, and Showtaro took their time and rested on the grassy ground near the stream.

Boruto rested as he drank his water bottle in an attempt to replenished his energy, which almost took a toll during the battle against the Kyuubi not too long ago. He had to admit that it was one of the difficult things that he had to face in most recent times.

The blonde took a deep breath as he relaxed and took the time to enjoy the scene in front of him. It was perfect for any person, looking for a way to clear his or her mind. For awhile, cerulean eyes continued stare and observe the stream of water that flowed along the forest.

With the previous events finally away from his mind, the blonde directed his thoughts to the present situation at hand. Since the beginning, he had this feeling that everything was going down once the team reached the bridge and through the confirming of his fears, it did came true.

Since Sai had vanished into thin air, assuming that he went rogue, the chances and opportunity for him and his raven haired teammate on being placed in the front lines again had skyrocketed up to the heavens. Truth to be told, this already happened before from the previous mission.

Along the way, his thoughts wondered around the presence of the cloaked person that he saw during his fight with the Kyuubi.

Boruto's expression turned serious once again as he thought about the important details that he can determined about the mysterious individual. For the blonde, it seemed that the cloaked person was only there for reason, to watch and observed. It seemed like that the bridge incident was mean't to happen or manipulated to happen.

Theories like this were very hard to confirm, but in a coincidental twist, a certain raven haired girl and a duck companion could be heard arguing about the same subject.

 _"I told you Sarada-san, I still need further investigation on the matter and the purpose of those cloaked people, I'm telling you!"_

 _"Please Showtaro-kun, if there is any more information that you have gathered about them, it would really give us the idea on how we could deal with them in the future."_

A little argument had apparently commenced between the two individuals. Boruto could only shook his head and gave a small smile, he had concluded that there were still an empty tank left to fill for the chemistry to work.

It was also at the same time that blonde's jougan began to react once again as he then turned his attention to a certain spot towards the other side of the forest only to see the cloaked person standing and beckoning the teen to follow him.

Boruto widened his eyes as the blonde then turned towards Sarada and Showtaro, who were still in their little argument. After a few moments of checking that they were alright, the Uzumaki quietly stood up and headed towards the direction where the cloaked figure was currently located.

He didn't said a word or anything as he only readied himself for what's ahead. He kept his composure intact as he calmly walked his way towards his destination. After all, he really needed the answers from the main source.

* * *

 **(CREEPING DANGER)**

It was something that Naruto and Sakura didn't expected to find in the middle of the woods. The mysterious picture book owned by none other than Sai himself.

The two main members of Team Seven both knew that they were in for another mystery ride since they open the picture book into its first page.

Naruto was even more confused and continued to asked questions about the book." These weird drawings are really creepy to be honest." He commented.

Sakura gave a sighed, she was really trying her best to decode what was on the book itself, and so far she was getting to the point that the book was telling them.

"Do you really think Yamato-sensei can decode it?" Naruto asked once again, resulting a thought entering his mind after.

"Speaking of Him, where the heck he had gone to?" He added, finally noticing about the brown haired man's whereabouts and not a single trace of him as of this time.

Where did the man went to?

What is he been up to for these past several hours?

The only thing that the blonde could remember is that his brown haired sensei headed somewhere in a nearby area to do something important. Maybe he was just surveying the places and planning out the next step of the mission.

As for Sakura herself, didn't bother as she continued to focus on decoding the book in hopes of finally getting more information about the black haired teen's past.

It was only Naruto who had sensed a familiar presence that was approaching nearby. A few moments later, a certain brown haired man emerged from a particular side of the forest.

"Yamato-sensei are you alright?" A bewildered Naruto asked, while his sensei just kept quiet and had this monotone or robotic look.

"Uhmm, Yamato-sensei?" The blonde asked once again, and still he didn't get no response from the man, who headed towards a certain direction. "Where's he going?"

As for the man himself, a dark aura was secretly enveloping him around as he headed towards the direction where a certain raven haired rookie was located. His hand, gripping a Kunai tightly from the back with the only intention of:

Eliminating the possible hindrances to the plan.

 **(CHAPTER END)**

* * *

 **AN: Thank you for reading the chapter!**


	58. Arc 3 Phase 2: Creeping Danger

**I don't own Naruto. Mr Kishimoto Does.**

 **Author's note: Hey there Readers!, Looks like we've finally entered Arc 3! I Hope you guys enjoy! I would also like to thank you guys for the Reviews. Favorites, and follows :)**

 **Still, I haven't found a Beta Editor yet, so I'm really alone on this one.**

 **Take note: The past weeks had been a bit busy for me. We had a family vacation in the province and I took the time to rest for awhile from the writer's block and burnout. So I've come up with several ideas and by watching the original episodes of Shippuden, maybe I could change the plot for a little bit in the next chapters for the story a different flow.**

 **With the Boruto Manga having published its latest chapter, I also might update and add some of the manga's contents to story to maintain its originality. Right now, I'm not sure on how it will blend with the story.**

 **Expect some grammar and spelling mistakes along the way.**

 **Thank you for Understanding :)**

* * *

 **Arc 3: Phase 2**

 **Chapter 23: Creeping Danger**

Dust was everywhere in the living room, it was often a site that a certain Uzumaki teen would ever disliked throughout her fourteen year existence, even though she's fifteen this year. It was always been her dream, a forgotten dream of living a normal life away from the works of the Shinobi.

It was a promised that she made and kept to herself since she was a little girl. Growing up in a humble house, she experienced the challenges of spring cleaning, cooking, and many more mostly the cleaning your own room part was probably that trained her the most.

At first, she thought her life was going to stay on from there. However, it was short lived as reality suddenly came bursting through the door and introduced her to the Shinobi life.

As of now, the dream was occuring right in front of her eyes yet again. It was only herself and the silence that enveloped the whole living room. It had been a days since she had not planned on doing another round of spring cleaning because of the simple reason of taking a relaxing break.

"Geez, the dust and dirt must be going full force at me this time." Himawari commented to herself, as she was currently sweeping the dust on the floor using her trusty broomstick and dust pan.

An hour had already passed since she'd started the operation and so far, she collected dust and dirt that was enough to fill a whole trash bin.

Along the way, thoughts were also going around inside her mind, specifically her big brother and big adoptive Uchiha sister. So far there wasn't any other way on how she might know their current status in their mission. It was only her thinking and worrying a little bit for them, although all of those thoughts weren't really gonna help her actually.

Himawari gave a sigh as she continued her current work. In just one hour, she finally had gotten rid half of the dust and dirt in the living room. There was only one more area left to go and she was currently in the said area. At the same time, the lavender haired teen also turned on the radio to break the silence away and let the music take over.

A smile went up to her face as she sang along the lyrics of the song, which was a hit back in the day. Soon, she would began dancing a little a bit while sweeping the floor until finally she was enjoying it. She really had to admit that the songs from the past were much better than the songs from the future and that was a fact since most artist of her time heavily used the Autotune way.

As the Uzumaki teen continued sweeping the floor while dancing around with the music at the same time, she then became unaware of the things happening around her, such as that she was on the verge of unintentionally bumping into a small vase which was displayed on certain spot.

Himawari eventually was able to knockout the vase from its position by the swaying of her hips because of the music. It was at that same time when the teenage girl widened her eyes as she then realized what she has done. It was just instinct that she instantly remembered the spot where the vase was placed and she happened to be also in this very spot.

So with a immediate quick move, the girl dropped the broom stick and dust pan as she attempted to save the only small vase that resided in this very apartment. Eventually, the attempt was successful as she managed to prevent the fragile object from falling to the floor, that would also add to the work load if that really happened.

"Phew! that was a close one." Himawari gave a sigh of relief. It also brought back a distant memory of a certain boy who unintentionally broke a certain family vase to which he apologized for it and eventually placed pieces back to together.

However, the memory dwelling was short lived as she took noticed of a random object located near under the lone sofa. The Random object was revealed to be some kind book or just a photocopied version of it. Himawari blinked a few times before deciding to head to the spot to investigate more.

Once she reached that spot, she finally got a good look of the object which confirmed her questions. It was indeed a book, which was photocopied, considering that it was just a stack papers and clipped into one single file." I really don't remember this being under the sofa." Himawari wondered as she examined the book more and discovered that it belong to the Sunakagure Grand Library.

"Did Boru-nii brought something that I didn't know about?" She asked herself. Her big brother sometimes kept secrets from anyone.

"Revelation?" Himawari muttered. The book title was indeed interesting though.

She then proceeded to open the pages of the book which took her to a particular page and topic that somehow intrigued her. The title of the page that she found herself staring at was entitled:

"The Organization"

* * *

 **(INSTRUCTOR)**

Throughout all of his life as a Shinobi, Yamato had never experienced this kind of let down or disappointment. He was currently at a quiet area in the forest, not too far away from where the rest of the team was currently located. The only simple reason on why he chose a quiet spot like this was because that he wanted some time alone.

The brown haired instructor sat under a particular tree and engaging with his own thoughts at the moment.

There wasn't a single emotion that he expressed. It was all blank as he wondered if he really did make the right decisions during the Kyuubi incident at the bridge. He looked as if he was a very lost case and just stood there watching without doing anything to help solve the problem while a member of the team began to wrecked havoc nearly risking a pink haired teen's life.

"Dammit!" Yamato exclaimed as he drew out his Kunai and threw it on the ground in a fit of frustration. This was the first time that he let out an emotion from deep inside.

It was his responsibility as a team captain and leader to make sure that the rest of the team to be safe. Sure, they were in this high level mission but they really gotta watched out for their lives if they want to accomplish this.

So far the team found themselves near the edge of this cliff and one touch or little push, everything will go down.

Then his thoughts continued and directed him to the two certain rookies, who unexpectedly appeared during the event and saved the day. Who could've known that these two teens acted swift as they handled the situation like they were not rookies but as professionals. These two, especially the blonde were the reason why he woke back from his helplessness and then contributed.

It seemed that without them, he would be nothing but just a first time captain, who was only there as a replacement for a more better one and nothing more. Unaware of what was happening right now, Jealousy and Rage began to cloud his mind as he then thought of the two rookies yet again.

"Maybe without them, this mission will be a success." He thought to himself." And I will no longer be treated like this!"

It was all the negativity that was surrounding him right now. Unbeknownst to him, a dark purple essence was enveloping him and slowly corrupting his mind, taking advantage of his emotions and completely controlling him. He then darted his eyes towards the Kunai that he previously thrown on the ground.

At the same time, a human cloaked figure could be seen standing in front of the brown haired man, who was the one that picked up the Kunai and handed it over to him.

 **"Go on, You should really do it!** " A cheerful female voice was then heard.

As for Yamato, the man took a few moments to observed his Kunai before finally standing up and headed back to where the rest of the team was located. His mind completely taken over by one goal.

To eliminate those two.

* * *

 **(LITTLE ARGUMENTS)**

I told you Sarada-san, I still need further investigation on the matter and the purpose of those cloaked people, I'm telling you!"

"Please Showtaro-kun, if there is any more information that you have gathered about them, it would really give us the idea on how we could deal with them in the future."

It was in the midst of calm confusion that a little argument had began between a certain raven-haired teen and a certain guide from the Pure Land.

Showtaro found himself bombarded with questions yet again from the girl. Questions, that were really tough to answer for now, although it seemed that these questions won't be going away for awhile and he was going to the point where he really has no choice but to entertain them.

He stood in this small boulder near the stream water that acted as the hot seat for him, while conversing with the teenage girl. So far, he was attempting to answer the questions truthfully as possible.

"Listen Sarada-san, I'm telling you if I know all the answers about these mysterious people, then I'm certain that I would tell you right away." Showtaro kept calmed as he explained his reason. In truth, the investigation process was not yet done and there were no direct information about them or on how they were operating their plans.

As for the Uchiha girl, she couldn't help but to try to get more information as she can. Since seeing how the team's chemistry and essence had downgraded into a lower level after the incident, she really needed to at least do something to contribute. There was a thought that came to into her mind that the mission was probably going to be aborted sooner.

No matter what happens, they really need to keep moving forward. There was this feeling that the enemy is still following them somehow

As for Showtaro, the duck gave a sigh and surveyed his surroundings before raising up his feathery wing-like hands as a puff of smoke burst thus a certain document appeared in front of the teenage girl.

 _"I guess it would be better if she knows the rest of it."_ He thought to himself. It was also a possibility that the girl could also give her own insights and solutions if she was to gain access to the classified information so far.

Sarada was caught by surprised when duck summoned a file, which appeared on his feathery hands without using any handsigns. She was about to asked that question, when the other prevented it and continued his speech.

"I think this might help clear your questions." Showtaro said as he handed the file to the girl." The information contained there is classified but it still can be change depending on the results of the investigation." He explained.

Sarada was curious and intrigued as she slowly opened the file to its first page. Her eyes found itself looking at certain informations accompanied by charts and visuals detailing specific individuals, who were none other than the white cloaked people.

At the same time, Showtaro opened his mouth as he began to explain the rest of his goals since arriving here.

"I wasn't just here to inform you about the current situation at hand." He said." I'm also here to conduct and continue my investigation to learn more about their operations here." He explained." I guess with your help, maybe I could shed some light on the mystery." He finished his sentence before taking a short rest.

Sarada nodded in understanding while reading the file." I see, and according to this file, you were tracking down at least one of them." She said.

"Yes, according to some of my connections, there were at least, a group of individuals from the Pure Land that were sent in the human world together and acting as guides to lost souls." Showtaro explained." Although, the problem was that they were sent without undergoing the usual process."

Sarada widened her eyes in surprised." Wait a sec, so the Pure Land has some kind of immigration process for the spirits?" She asked." How come I never heard of this before?"

"Well, its because no one really knows about it except for me and the rest." Showtaro said with a little chuckle." If you were to be in my world, then I think it would really make your jaw drop." He explained." It's a really big civilization out there!"

Sarada gave a little intrigued nod. Somehow, she was beginning to think that the Pure Land would eerily be similar to what the human world is like. Although, she has to be dead first if she really wanted to see it in person.

Showtaro then cleared his throat." Well, there is actually a way that you can go there alive." He explained." Although, it's illegal and against the laws of the council." He paused for a little bit before continuing" And which brings us to the topic on why these group of individual souls were sent here in very suspicious ways."

* * *

 **(INTERVIEW)**

" **That was the question that continued hover around my head so far in the investigation. Pure Land Law states that only individuals from the council or council-controlled departments were the only ones allowed to go to the human world but only as souls to guide other souls.**

 **These already dead people that were sent, they had no record or papers to prove that they were members of the departments, plus most of us in the department never heard of any of them or their background information. Although, they were sent under council official's special permission.**

 **It wasn't until Sarada-san was able to decode some of the mystery at least."**

 **-Showtaro**

* * *

"Well, I think is what you told us before, they were sent here illegally in a way that they were brought back to life but somehow it was kept as a secret from everybody." Sarada said, as she turned her eyes towards the duck.

"Plus, I doubt that they were sent here to guide souls to passed on." She added." They really might be those white cloaked people that kept on following and watching us!"

There was a little bit of silence that took charged between them. The raven haired girl's theory was indeed a possibility that it started to destroy their doubts and answer their questions one by one. Although, there was another question that appeared above their heads.

They were sent here in what purpose?

It was at the same time as the two began to think of theories that a familiar presence was felt heading towards their direction. Soon after, a human figure slowly emerged from the forest which caught their attention right away.

Both Showtaro and Sarada cautiously observed as the human figure was revealed to be none other than Yamato himself.

"Yamato-sensei?" Sarada asked. There was something odd about her brown haired sensei that she can't figure out.

Showtaro was also having the same thoughts as the girl. He noticed and felt this malevolent energy surrounding the man and as time passes by, he was beginning to feel the danger creeping up.

A silent Yamato just stood there with his head facing directly on the ground. His hands were behind his back holding a sharp Kunai as he then turned his head up to face the girl and the duck with murderous eyes.

* * *

 **(MEANWHILE)**

Several minutes had already go by since their brown haired sensei passed by them and it left a state of confusion for one certain teenage blonde who just couldn't get over this strange feeling that he was having right now." Hmmm, that's weird, I never seen Yamato-sensei that gloomy before." He commented.

There was something really strange going around. When he tried to observed the brown haired man further, he took noticed of a strange small dark aura emitting from him and he wasn't sure whether he was just seeing things or he was really seeing the real deal.

Although, for better or for worst, he really need to do something right now.

Cerulean eyes then darted back to the pink haired teen, who was preoccupied on decoding the picture book." Sakura-chan!" Naruto repeatedly called his teammate's name just to get her attention.

"What is it Naruto?" An annoyed Sakura said, she was a bit startled when her blonde teammate began to shake her a bit. Her eyes then turned up only to meet a concerned and worried face.

"There is really something wrong with Yamato-sensei!" Naruto informed." I saw him holding a Kunai and heading off to somewhere." He explained as he was expecting a surprised reaction from his teammate.

Although, Sakura just gave a somewhat confused and unbelievable look at him." A Kunai? You think he's just surverying the area or maybe detected something suspicious?" She asked.

"No Sakura-chan!" Naruto exclaimed this time which startled the pink haired teen." I believed what I saw Dattebayo!"

"If we don't do something as members of this team, then what are we doing here for? We gotta help them!"

Sakura was pretty much surprised when her teammate raised his voice. She almost dropped the picture book as she found herself staring at serious cerulean eyes. It almost sounds like as if he knew what was going to happen next.

"Uhmm, Naruto I think we should think carefully about it first, I mean it's really hard to go on conclusions." Sakura explained, although her reasoning had no effect as the blonde didn't agree with her.

Naruto summoned a bit of his energy as he attempted to stand up from his former positon, even though there were still aches in his body plaguing him. As for Sakura, she immediately dropped the picture book as she supported a still wobbling blonde.

"Hey don't force yourself Naruto! You're still injured." Sakura informed, while also picking up the picture book on the floor.

Naruto gave a little chuckle." I know you would do that Sakura-chan." He said." But nevermind about that, let's get going dattebayo!" He slightly exclaimed as he took his first steps while the pink haired teen assisted him.

Sakura didn't get the opportunity to speak, she just gave a sigh as she was given no choice but to assist her blonde teammate for now. If what he said was true, then she really should prepare for another conflict as early as possible.

Although, there was this strange feeling that she felt and it was urging her to go with her teammate as soon as possible.

* * *

 **(CONFRONTATIONS)**

Boruto kept himself calm and compose, it was only just a few steps left before he finally found himself at his main destination which was this quiet small open field. Right in the middle of the field itself was a person donning a white hooded cloaked. He wasn't sure of the gender but by the looks of it, the person was male considering the stature and body shape.

The wind grew stronger as he neared the area. There wasn't any indication that there anyone else besides the lone figure. It seemed that this secret meeting was mean't for only him and for no one else.

The blonde stood a few distances away from the mysterious person, it was only him and his wits if anything goes seriously wrong. But so far, he was only anticipating on what's going to happen next.

The lone cloaked figure stood as he directly face his counterpart. He didn't have any goal right now but to only talk and not to fight. Although, if things did not go as he planned, then he might have no choice but to entertain the matter.

The silence between the two ended as the cloaked person spoke for the first time since." I'm glad you were able to come here unnoticed." He said, giving his own compliment.

Boruto kept silent as he took the opportunity to observed first rather than speak up. He was trying to pinpoint the exact goal of this cloaked person, whether there was a plan to ambush him, but so far there wasn't any intention and he concluded that he was telling the truth. So much for his Kunai, which was already ready for a surprised attack.

"What's your purpose here? Are you the one responsible for nearly risking our team?" Boruto finally spoke and asked. He didn't want any bull crap right now, he wanted straight answers.

The cloaked person remained quiet for a few moments before finally responding." I guess you really are a straightforward person." He said. "I didn't came here to fight but only to discuss an important matter with you."

Boruto narrowed his eyes, he wondered if this guy was really serious about talking this out. Most of the enemies that he came across with were more violent and willing to spill some blood but this guy won't.

"To answer your question, I may say yes, that was a part of our responsibility and before you bombarde me with anything, I would like you to listen to the matter first." The cloaked figure replied, indicating that he was serious about this.

There was no response from the blonde as it mean't that he was listening to what the other was going to say to him. As for the cloaked person, he smiled underneath his hood and then began to continue his speech and relay this information.

"To be truthful, you and the two girls were actually an unexpected surprised to us." He said." The organization had took interest and has been investigating your presence since the Kazekage incident.

Boruto nodded and said." What about it? Why do you think we're a such big problem to your organization or whatever it is you call it?" He asked. Thoughts were running around his mind at the same time, still wondering about this person's identity and goal.

The cloaked figure gave a little chuckle." It's because you're a possible hinder to the plans." He said." Although, He still hasn't been informed of it yet, and I would very much like to keep this as a secret for awhile."

"Us? A hinder to his plans?" Boruto said, before giving a smirked." Tell me, are we really that of a threat to you guys?" He asked.

The cloaked person chuckled again." Not really, I guess you'll be just one of those people who tried well enough to do good but eventually fail in the end." He said.

Boruto slightly smirked yet again." As if!" He replied back." And would you mind telling me on about this plan of yours?" He asked.

There was a few moments of quietness that took over for awhile. The cloaked figure stood there without any response and having thoughts about this blonde. He seemed to have this overwhelming confidence and determination which he himself previously had.

"You're like a person that anyone could entrust with any secret." The cloaked figure said." However, I might give you a little hindsight of it since you've entered the game." The man added before finally going straight forward with his intention while the other kept himself on check as he carefully listen to the cloaked man.

"Since you already know the rest of the background, courtesy of your companion, this might help you people shed light on your questions." The cloaked man said as continued to speak." I guess most of you guys know about Sasori of the Red sand."

Boruto raised an eyebrow." Yeah, what about him then?" The blonde said as he was a bit surprised to hear the man's name being mentioned by the cloaked person.

"He was supposed to die during that encounter." He simply said." But because of you three, He lived to tell his tale of redemption." He added." Which brings us to the main plan."

Boruto raised an eyebrow." So meaning that he had a chance to live and redeem himself but you guys reversed and manipulated the whole thing." He said." To look as if he was destined to die all along."

The cloaked figure simply nodded."Yes, it was the only way for the plan to continue and that's not the only one in this lifetime." He explained as the wind grew stronger.

Boruto widened his eyes in surprised." So there's still more." He said." Tell me, how long exactly you guys have been manipulating things into your bidding?" He asked.

The cloaked figure didn't respond anything for a few moments before putting his arm on his chest while his right hand was on his chin as if he was wondering." From what I've learned, this has been going on for thousands of years." He said with a little sarcastic innocent tone of voice.

Boruto kept calmed as he realized what Miyuki told them before was actually true. The events that happened even before he went back to the past, had all been manipulated to happened. His thoughts was then interrupted by the cloaked figure.

"Tell me, now that you already know a part of the truth, What's your next step?" He asked.

Another quietness had took over the area. Although, this was much different than before as the atmosphere began to change. Boruto began to feel a strange danger creeping up and he attempted looked around to see if anything wrong was happening.

The cloaked figure just stood there having same thoughts. He also felt this dark presence that seemed familiar.

In a few moments an explosion was heard from several distances away. Boruto was startled as he turned back around to see a smoke rising from a familiar area." Sarada-chan." He muttered under his breath.

It was also at the same time when he then turned around to the cloaked person only to see him turned from his back and leaving the area. Boruto felt an urged as if the mysterious hooded person was attempting something bad. So the blonde narrowed his eyes as he then quickly burst and dash with full speed towards the cloaked figure, tightly gripping his Kunai.

By the time Boruto neared his target, the cloaked figure anticipated it as he summoned a blade that appeared in his hands, turned around, and blocked the blonde's attacked face to face.

In that very moment, his hood was finally but slowly removed from his head, thus revealing his full facial appearance:

A young man.

"You should probably go and help your friend right now." The mysterious young man adviced as he summoned his strength which pushed the blonde away from him.

Boruto safely landed on the ground as he watched the young man vanished in front of him as a dark portal envelope him.

There was quietness that took over for a moment before Boruto immediately remembered his teammate as he quickly left the area and headed towards the others.

* * *

 **(A DANGEROUS WOOD)**

It seemed as if it was a thing of impossibilities. As for a certain Sarada Uchiha, she was seeing and experiencing the real deal as of now. Who would've thought that she was going to fight her sensei this time and in the most unexpected way.

It all began when the brown haired man suddenly charged towards the raven haired girl with a kunai armed in his hand and with an attempt to eliminate her. Sarada quickly reacted and countered the move. First, she shoved Showtaro away for him not to be involded in the fight. The second she did that, she then got of hold of her sensei's hand, preventing it from striking her. There was a little bit fight struggle between the two that moment but the raven haired girl's strength prevailed as she overpowered the man as she was able to disarmed him from his Kunai and then gave him a hook in the face. It didn't stop from there as she immediately grabbed the man and tossed him to a nearby tree.

The Mindless Yamato crashed into a random tree which was now a shell of its former complete self. The tree itself broke in half when the man landed there.

Sarada quickly realized what she did as she really had no intention of doing such a thing to her sensei. It was an act of self-defense."I'm really sorry Yamato-sensei!" She exclaimed in an apologizing way.

"Are you sure he's okay?" Showtaro asked and wondered." Why did he attacked just now?"

It was at the same time that the brown haired man recovered from the crashed and continued his goal. He then formed a handsign and exclaimed:

 **"Mokuton: Great Forest Technique!"**

In which, his right armed immediately transformed or morphed into large chunks of wood, sharp enough to gradually and instantly impale someone so bad.

Sarada could only stare and shook her head. She gave a sigh because this was going to be a very long day. She had no choice but to activate her sharingan this time just to engaged his mindless sensei to a senseless battle. She also had no idea on what caused the man to do this kind of act.

As for Showtaro, he took a glimpse of a certain dark energy enveloping him. He had no clue where that came from but they really have to do something to snap him out of this trance.

He could only hope that he was not going to be roasted today.

* * *

 **(INTERVIEW)**

 **"This might be one of the times where your own sensei is attacking you for no reason at all. I have to say that this has to be the freakiest thing that ever happened in this mission or so to say."**

 **-Sarada**

 **"Kudos to the person or thing that turned this guy into a mindless attacking individual. I hope I don't get myself literally roasted today."**

 **-Showtaro**

* * *

 **(MEANWHILE)**

"We gotta hurry come on!"

A certain blonde exclaimed as he tried his best to hurry towards his destination while still limping throughout the forest. Worry was also accompanying him along his journey, the responsibility was creeping on him and as a main member of this team, he really had to do something right now.

"Hey Naruto! Slow down!" Sakura was behind the blonde as she tried to catch up with him. She was concerned for him because he still hasn't recovered from his injuried yet. Although, she was also getting worried about the two rookies and her brown haired sensei.

Since the bridge incident, it seemed as if incidents like this were non-stop happening. Even a little bit of things like this were now considered to be a possible threat. Being the two main members of team in this kind of situation were pretty much harder for them right now.

Not only that as the two were finally nearing their destination, there was this burn essence that can be smelled and a smoke that can be seen from a few distances away. Both of them began to have the same thoughts as they feared that something bad must've happened to them. Boruto was a bit disappointed of himself that he didn't acted earlier while Sakura expressed her disappointment for being to occupied with the picture book. Although, both of them had one goal in mind right now.

It was at this time when the two were nearing their destination that a certain female cloaked figure was waiting between two certain trees ahead of them. Naruto was very much focused on his goal that he wasn't aware that the female cloaked person was planning something mischevious.

Naruto was at his best speed when he heard a female giggle coming from his right side and suddenly found himself being tripped on someone's foot and falling to the ground. He also turned his head towards his right and saw a white cloaked figure, who was the one responsible for tripping him down. When he tried to recover, he felt pain on his back as the cloaked person made another move by stomping on his back as he fell down.

 **"Going somewhere kiddo?** " A young woman's voice was then heard from the cloaked person.

Naruto cringed in pain and gritted his teeth in frustration." Who the heck are you!?" He exclaimed as he held his bac." This was very much unexpected.

A smile was forming underneath her hood. The female cloaked person gave an arrogant chuckle." Awww, Sorry about that, I was kinda in the mood for a little prank." She said with sarcasm in her voice." The name's Yuko by the way."

"Get away from him!"A familiar voice exclaimed. Sakura was able to catch up and arrived at the scene with an intention of defending the her teammate from the unknown newcomer.

The female cloaked figure, now named Yuko smiled underneath her hood as she then jumped from her current position to avoid her attack which was a power punch.

Sakura gritted her teeth in annoyance as the newcomer evaded her attack with ease. She found herself in toe to toe with the cloaked person. She quickly readied herself for a possible battle.

Meanwhile, the other just stood there with a relaxed posture as she wasn't in the mood to engaged in a battle but only to meddle and ruin someone's day.

"Well, eventhough this is a short meeting, I had a lot of fun." She gave a cheerful gesture as she disappeared in a blinked of an eye leaving a confused pink haired teen.

Silence took over yet again the area, Sakura immediately rushed to her teammate's side as she helped him recover up from the ground." Are you alright Naruto?" She asked." Just who the heck was that?"

"Yeah, I'm fine Sakura-chan." Naruto replied as he can still feel the recent pain." And I really have no idea about that person, by the looks of it, she is an enemy." He added as he then attempted to walk again."

"We're almost there, There's not much time to waste dattebayo!" He said while cringing for a little bit.

"Wait, let me help you, you're still haven't recovered yet." Sakura quickly volunteered as she assisted her teammate on towards their destination.

She could only hope that they were alright.

* * *

 **(CRAZY SENSEI)**

The large portion of the area was covered in smoke. It smelled almost like chicken barbecue, at least for Showtaro, who found himself in the midst of a mini-battle between the raven haired girl and the brainwashed sensei of this team.

It seemed as if it was already a war even though there were just two people fighting. He could feel the intensity level all throughout and there was no denying the fact that he was now stuck in between.

 **Katon: Fireball Jutsu!**

Flames had been everywhere since from the start. Showtaro luckily avoided everyone of them and even the heat coming from the waves. His eyes were moving around as he watched the raven haired girl battle her brown haired sensei.

Sarada was quick on her feet all throughout the battle. It was nothing but the color brown that she could see in front of her eyes. She had previously used a fire release jutsu to counter a number of sharp wood that erupted from the ground hence why there was smoke in the first place. Once she was out of that dilema, another one followed thereafter as the brainwashed Yamato charge towards her yet again with his great forest technique.

The battle had flow in it, the fluidity was so good that there was no chance for any stoppage or break. Sarada took the defensive side as she evaded multiple strikes unleashed by her brown haired sensei, who's eyes were emotionless. She tried to figure out on what was reason for him attacking her and she believed that this was not his doing.

She also notice a portion of a dark purple energy emitting from him and somehow it looked very much familiar as of she had seen this before back then.

"Sarada-san watch out!" Showtaro's voice was then heard yelling out to her.

The Uchiha girl snapped to reality as she evaded another attack which was a smash attempt on her this time. A small crater was formed on the ground in front of her. She then darted her eyes towards her sensei who almost looked like an abominated birkin monster because of his giant wood like arm.

A thought came to her that she needed to end this as soon as possible. The damage was taking its toll as time passed by. She then darted towards Showtaro and made eye contact with him. She gave the duck a nod as a message that she needed his help to make this work.

Showtaro simply nodded. He felt this boost of confidence in himself thus he proceeded to make his move and flew around the man as a means to distract him. The man was like a robot as of now, whatever thing on his sight, he will attack right away.

" _Over here!"_

 _"Right here"_

 _"You're too slow!_ "

Showtaro also gave a little trash talk when he was doing his part. The only thing for him to do is to wait for the raven haired girl to make her move.

As for Sarada, she took the few moments to prepare herself before finally charging towards the man in full speed. It was at this time that the other finally gave way for the girl as her final move commenced.

A surprised brainwashed Yamato then laid his eyes on the girl and then attempted to counter her attack with another smashing move, but the girl quickly avoided it thus his giant wood like arm hit the ground instead. He tried to recover but the girl was too fast as she immediately destroyed his wood like arm by punching it so hard that it almost turned into ash.

It didn't stop from there as the Uchiha girl followed it with an uppercut through the man's chin as he was sent flying to a distance." _Sorry sensei, I really had to do this_." She gave an apologetic look and a cringed. She was not used to fighting her own sensei to the death whether it would be Konohamaru or anyone else.

It was merely self-defense to begin with.

It was also at this time that the dark purple energy left the man as he landed on the ground and finally back to his normal self although from the damage he sustained, his consciousness was on the verge of fading away. He laid on the ground wondering on what had happened just now and why he was here all of a sudden.

Showtaro was in living in the moment. He found himself cheering for the girl as she managed to overcome the challenge. Although, it wasn't over yet as he found himself suddenly being shoved to the ground by an unknown force.

Sarada immediately rushed to her sensei's side but as she was about to do it, she suddenly felt a presence behind her which prevented her from going there. Moments later she felt something sharp around her front neck and a female voice.

" **One move and you're throat will be a waterfall of blood**." The female voice gleefully said.

Sarada kept calm as she didn't made any single move. She stood there between world of the living and death's door. She couldn't get the full picture of this mysterious person but she took note of the white colored sleeve of the person.

"So you're ones that had been causing trouble lately." The young female voice said." How come I wasn't assign on this mission?" She cooed." Awww, poor me."

Sarada could feel the sarcasm and sassiness of this person. Whatever this person's goal is, it won't be good. She needed to get out of this mess or else.

"Maybe I should slit that throat of yours right now so I could be promoted." The female voice said again with a gleeful tone.

At this rate, it was fully confirmed. As the blade was about to touch the raven haired girl's throat, she immediately reacted as she grab the small blade itself from the person pushed it away from her neck, then, afterwards she drew a number of shuriken and threw it towards the person, who was revealed to be the female cloaked person, named Yuko, from awhile ago.

Sarada stayed in her battle stance as she prepared for another round while surprised and irritation stayed by the other's side.

"You almost got me there missy, How about we try this the hard way?" The young cloaked woman said while the other ignored her comments.

Yuno, with her face still concealed by hood, was about to charged at her when she was stopped as someone grabbed her by the arm." What!?" She exclaimed as she turned around to face a familiar face at least for her.

A tall cloaked person stood in front of her." **What are you doing here?** " A male voice was then heard from the person.

"Let me go! I'm not done yet with them!" Yuko exclaimed her frustrations and continued to do so.

Sarada could only watch on what was transpiring in front of her. She tried to figure out on what was going on but the scene ended so soon when the taller cloaked figure summoned a portal which engulfed him and the other.

* * *

 **(LATE ARRIVAL)**

Silence took over once again as Sarada found herself along with her half-conscious sensei in a now damaged area as multiple trees were laying on the ground.

Realization then came thereafter for the raven haired girl as she then rushed towards her sensei's aid." Yamato-sensei! are you alright!?" She worriedly exclaimed. The first thing that she did was to check the man's vital signs and overall condition, so far he was alright but groaning in pain.

"What happened?" Yamato managed to let out a couple words. He found himself laying in this exhausted state as if he was going to lose consciousness at the moment.

Sarada sighed in relief as everything was going to be alright for now. The only thing that matters are the whereabouts of the others. She then darted her eyes towards her duck companion who was slowly recovering from the shoved just now.

"What the heck was that?" A still dizzy Showtaro asked.

" _Sarada-chan!"_

 _"Showtaro!"_

 _"Yamato-Sensei_!"

At the same time, familiar voices were heard calling out their names. All of them turned their sides to see the others finally arriving at the scene. Boruto arrived from the left side while Naruto and Sakura came from the ride side. All of them reached the raven haired at the same time.

Sakura was shocked to see the place in a mess. Tree branches and leaves were everywhere on a ground that had small craters in it. It seemed there was really a fight that happened just awhile ago but how did it happened and what caused it?

The pink haired girl then darted her eyes towards the raven haired rookie, who felt as if she had been into a war. She seemed so exhausted and weary. There was this feeling of worrieness that filled her mind again, it was a different kind of worry at least for her.

So in a matter of moments, she rushed to the girl and gave her a hug which really surprised the rookie." Are you alright Sarada?" She asked.

Sarada was caught by the surprised short-lived hug, although she was able to escape the awkwardness by just going with the flow and at the same time, a familiar voice interrupted the moment.

"What happened here?" Naruto was the first one to asked as he assisted the girl on helping their brown haired sensei up.

Sarada could only sighed as she knew that this was going to be a telling of a very long story." Well, I don't know how to explain everything but, I was attacked." She said.

"By who?" Boruto spoke this time and asked.

Sarada gulped as she wasn't sure on how the others might react to this news." Well, Yamato-sensei did." She simply said.

There was quietness that took over for several seconds as the rest stared at her with surprised expressions. After that, she found herself being bombarded by a series of questions coming from both sides. The questions didn't stop until they all given up from asking.

"I really want to explain everything to you guys but first, we gotta get out of this place and take Yamato-sensei to a safe place." Sarada said as she gave them direct serious eye contacts.

Boruto sighed." She's right, we gotta get out of here first." He said while the others nodded in understanding.

Naruto simply nodded." Alright then, let's go dattebayo!" He said as the blonde took charged and assisted their weak sensei. Boruto also came along to replaced Sarada and thus the two blondes were now the main support of their sensei.

Sarada took a slightly dizzy Showtaro and rested him on her shoulder.

It didn't took long for the team to prepare as they immediately left the area for a safer place where the enemy won't be able to find them. The situation has changed, there were now doubts building inside on how this mission will succeed, although for now, the team has to regroup and recover first.

* * *

 **(INTERVIEW)**

 **"This was a major changed in the mission. From the stories that we heard from our parents, Yamato-sensei did not get brainwashed or corrupted, or there were cloaked figures trying to kill us."**

 **-Sarada**

 **"This was an entirely a whole new level. We still have to confirm and make sure that Yamato-sensei is alright to continue this mission, and if the situation goes the other way, there might a problem here."**

 **-Boruto**

* * *

 **(JOURNEY TO THE HIDEOUT)**

 **Location: Somewhere along a river**

A stream of water flew along the river. Sai washed his face from the dust and dirt that managed get a hold of his white paled face.

It had been hours since the incident at the bridge and a lot happened afterwards. The young member of Root had the hardest challenge of his life yet by confronting a certain snake Sannin, who almost ended his young life if it wouldn't for his ink clone that temporarly took his spot. In the end, he managed to convinced the man that he was not a threat.

In addition, a certain Kabuto Yakushi attempted to ambushed him from behind because he thought he was a threat but all of that effort was meant for nothing as the silver haired man felt the pain in his balls that he sustained earlier from a certain rookie and he collapsed on the ground when he was about to charged towards him.

A small chuckle came out from the young root member as he observed the silver haired man trying to ease out the pain by using his healing jutsu.

 _"Pathetic Four Eyes."_

He secretly muttered the word to himself before continuing his business. Around this time thoughts were beginning to entertain him yet again. The subject mainly focus on a certain Sasuke Uchiha. According to the reports, the guy was pretty much insane and hell bent on avenging his family. He could be a powerful foe to eliminate at this time since three years had passed.

So far he was still constructing his plan of assassination without getting blown. Sai knew the consequences if he gets discovered. He was true to his mission and ideals of his superior. No matter how hard the task was, he was going to do it.

"We should get going now."

It was at this time that Orochimaru finally broke the silence. Both him and Kabuto turned their attention towards the snake Sannin.

"Why Lord Orochimaru?" A surprised Kabuto asked." I thought we still have time?" He added.

The snake sannin just kept silent but smiled. He gave this look towards the both of them." We don't want to keep our boss waiting." He said with sarcasm in his tone of voice. He was referring to a certain raven haired teen and student.

Kabuto simply nodded in understanding." Of course, He is quite the impatient one." He commented before turning his eyes towards the young root member.

"I guess He would be delighted to meet a friend from his Home village." He added, with an arrogant smile.

Sai kept quiet throughout this time. Deep inside, he was quite annoyed about that idiotic silver haired four eyes. He hoped that Karma would get the best of him once again. But for now, he had to play his role carefully and do his job.

It's only matter of time before he can finally meet his target.

 **(CHAPTER END)**

* * *

 **AN: Thank you for reading the chapter:)**


	59. Arc 3 Phase 2: Mission Delay?

**I don't own Naruto. Mr Kishimoto Does.**

 **Author's note: Hey there Readers!, Looks like we've finally entered Arc 3! I Hope you guys enjoy! I would also like to thank you guys for the Reviews. Favorites, and follows :)**

 **Still, I haven't found a Beta Editor yet, so I'm really alone on this one.**

 **Take note: This chapter is a "Breather" chapter, as a means to take a break from the fighting that happened in the previous chapters. Feel free to share your ideas on how Boruto and Sarada will meet Sasuke.**

 **Expect some grammar and spelling mistakes along the way.**

 **Thank you for Understanding :)**

* * *

 **Arc 3: Phase 2**

 **Chapter 25: Mission Delay?**

The wind was stronger than ever in the midst of an atmosphere that was still calming down. The Kyuubi dilema back at Tenchi Bridge was so intense that it damaged a large of portion of the forest and the battle caused a large crater to be formed in the middle of it.

In that very same crater, two individuals stood in the exact middle and a conversation was currently being held at the moment. The two individuals were revealed to be none other than the two white cloaked people from before. One was a tall male, his hood finally removed revealing his full appearance, a young man about his early twenties. He had medium dark brown shaggy hair, dark bluish eyes and a serious look at the moment.

The other one was shorter than the young man, this individual had the curves and feminine facade, indicating that this person was a female. When she finally removed her hood to reveal her full appearance to that of a young lady somewhere around her mid to late teens. She had this silver hair that was bunned up into two pigtails, and a sharp but vivid green eyes.

"I really can't believed you stopped me there!" Yuko exclaimed, her frustration was very visible." I've could've taken care all of them, Tensai!"

The older male kept controlled and gave a sigh, ignoring her complaints" What are you doing here?" He said." You're supposed to be assigned to your task."

There was a bit of quietness from the young lady, She gave a small smirk and flipped her pig tails in a sassy manner." Well, is it a bad thing to take a short break?" She said." Besides, I wanna find out more about these newcomers." She explained with a arrogant grin.

"And I really don't mind on using that little chimera to give their sensei temporal anger management issues. She added, with a snotty chuckle.

There was really no stopping this young lady, ever since she became a member of the organization, she became a bit of a meddler to anyone's business. Considering that a large of number of years had already passed since, she was much better and controlled here.

The young man, Tensai wasn't just considered as a leader who leads this group but also a person who is task to handle each of the member's personality and ego. It had been a very long time since he had felt the stress and struggles of a human being, and now that he is once again back in the world that he used to live, things could get any better.

"But still you disobeyed instructions again." He said as he stood by his belief." Do you know how many times missions like this were put into trouble because of this doings?" He asked, referring to the numerous times on how this events were almost altered, which often involved the young silver haired lady.

Yuko was not even affected, she decided to just play along." Awww, so that means I'm kicked out of the group?" She cooed, her sassiness still there.

Tensai gave a sigh, patience was often the key to handle her." No you're not, I'm just here to remind you to never do this again or else-" He was suddenly cut.

"Or else what!?" Yuko raised her voice, looking directly at him in the eyes. She was also about to add more words when she was beaten to it.

"Or else He might discover all of this and we're all going be going down the drain." Tensai replied back. He only used this as a way for the girl to listened up.

Yuko gave a sigh." Oh the boss." She said." I wonder what's He up to nowadays?" She wondered while slightly looking up towards the sky." I guess He's busy making his constitutional stuff of whatever it is ." She added, showing no interest of that certain subject.

"That's why you need to keep quiet!" Tensai said, scolding her for a little bit." You know that He's doing something suspicious." He added, referring to their boss' goals which was deemed ambitious and could cause destruction.

Yuko then raised an eyebrow and gave him a stern look." Then why did you join the organization in the first place?" She asked." If you're not into his dictatorship goals?" She said, while putting her hands on her hips.

"You're not really thankful that he gave you a second chance to live again."

Tensai kept quiet. He had a reason for joining the group, and that reason was to protect a certain loved one, which was a little sister of his, and he hadn't seen her in many years and had no idea what she already looked like. He still had that guilt of not being there for her.

The organization's main benefactor was indeed the business-minded individual, He recruited these members to his group and in exchange, he will help them fulfill their wishes, goals, and give them second chances. An offer that the young man can't resist just to protect her loved one.

As for Yuko, She just sarcastically shrugged it off." Awww, what a really nice and tragic story." She commented." It's really sad that it ended that way for you but try to looked on the bright side!" She lamely tried to cheer him up.

"Oh and do you really think that this plan of yours is going to work at all?" She added." Like no one is really on your side to be honest." She said.

Tensai gave a sigh yet again." That's why I need time to keep on eye on those three newcomers, they might be the ones that can help." He explained, he had the feeling that these three would be the major changers to the game.

Yuko rolled her eyes as if she wasn't interested about it." Suit yourself." She said, before looking at the blank space with her thoughts working inside her mind.

It was also at this time that the young man continued to speak." Any updates on your mission? He asked." And do you even get along with him?"

Yuko snapped from her thoughts and turned to the older member." So far, it's going fine, I never that I would be in charge on monitoring a guy, from those Akatsuki, and who is obsessed with his stupid Jashin God!" She commented.

"Oh you mean that lazy dumb brick of a partner?" She said." Well, He's annoying and I really don't like him." She said, while closing her eyes and looking away, hinting a bit of her other side.

Tensai could only shook and scratched his head. By far, Yuko was definitely the sassiest member of the organization. A person, who can be really tough to get along because of her plain rude attitude. Considering her bloody past, eventual death, and resurrection. She had every reason to be the person that she is right now.

"You should probably go back and handle your mission after this." He then said to her." You still have a long way to go." He added.

Yuko gave a devious smile." I know, I will probably go somewhere where I can relax for a bit." She said." I heard that a village with five carved heads is a good place to go to."

"You mean the leaf village?" He clarified, while the other just simply nodded.

"Correct again, Tensai-kun."

Tensai gave a sigh." Alright, but don't try to interact with anyone." He said with a serious look, considering that the young lady had meddled with the two main members of Team seven.

"Don't worry, I wouldn't do that again. Yuko gave a grin, surely she promised to herself that she will behave and be careful this time.

Will that promise be broken already?

* * *

 **(DECISIONS)**

The whole Tenchi bidge incident can be considered as a major setback for the team. An incident so sudden that it almost risked the life of a certain pink haired girl, an incident that almost left the team's morale destroyed, and an incident which saw the betrayal of one young member of the team for his own goals.

In a certain area, where a small river was located which separates the old and new stages of the journey, is where the team found themselves currently. Battered and exhausted, they sought to take the available time they have to rest and recharge themselves. The only catch is that there will be no setting up for camp tonight.

"Careful Yamato-sensei." A certain blonde rookie said, as he and his young dad, assisted on helping their still recovering sensei as they placed him carefully on a nearby tree.

Yamato could only groaned as he can still feel the ache in his head and body. He felt drained than ever before as if he was on the verge of losing his consciousness. His vision was a bit blurry as he could only see two recognizable colors of blonde in front of him.

Boruto and Naruto were very much glad to have helped their sensei, they both sighed in relief as it seemed the danger was far behind them. The only the thing that they have to do was to treat their sensei's injuries if he ever sustained one awhile back.

This is where Sarada and Sakura cue comes in, with both having the same medical expertise, they quickly solved the problem in a matter of minutes as they treated their brown haired sensei and made sure that he will be able to rest well without any distractions. Sarada took the reigns of bandaging every wound that the man sustained while Sakura used her healing jutsu to speed up the process.

With that said and done, Yamato's consciousness slowly drifted away as the brown haired man fell asleep right away. The last thing he felt was something soft behind his head, which was revealed to be a small pillow courtesy from the raven haired rookie.

There was silence that followed thereafter as the rest of the members took their respective spots to rest on. There were no discussions or whatsoever, they were all just there dwelling in quietness. With a team captain, who is incapable of leading his own team as of now, the possible of continuing the mission was thrown into doubts.

As for now, The two main members and the two rookies sat down on the grassy ground, the two blondes were nearby the small river while the two teenage girls were at a certain spot, preparing sandwhiches for the rest. They haven't ate anything for hours now.

* * *

 **(REFLECTIONS)**

The atmosphere was indeed gloomy. Showtaro observed and wondered if all hope seemed lost. He really wished that not all of it went out of the window in one go. The mission was yet to be accomplished and they can't just cancel it like it was nothing.

"Looks like everybody is in the sad train right now." He thought to himself, before sighing altogether. He understood the fact that the team morale had gone down because of what happened awhile ago, he was just thinking if they were going to abort the mission soon.

Showtaro was no stranger to this kinds of situations, in the years of his existence, he delt in many missions that were more dangerous than this one, mostly missions that concerned the balance of the worlds. He had personally never participate in battles before because he would often found himself in the middle of it to which he survives in one piece.

One of his missions, where he infiltrated the world of Otsutsuki almost left him roasted. His mission there was to investigate and get evidence of corruption that has been going on in their system and he successfully revealed the culprits, who were revealed to be clan members themselves, and their goals of perfoming a coup against the Otsutsuki leaders which also led to their arrest and eventual imprisonment.

Now, here he is in another mission, where he has no idea on where it will take him to.

Showtaro gave yet another sigh before turning to his thoughts for solutions, he was thinking of a possible way for the rest of the team to reach their destination without breaking any sweat. It was a impossible feat to achieve and the so called hideout could be a thousands of miles away.

It was after a few moments later, when he then looked up at the sky and saw a flock of birds flying towards a certain direction. He then glanced back at the still resting Team seven and then turned back towards the sky.

"Oh I see." Showtaro simply said and nodded while scratching his chin.

He finally had an idea.

* * *

 **(MEANWHILE)**

"So do you think it's finally over?"

Those were the words that first came out from Naruto himself. The blonde was staring at the stream of the river and wondering if there was still hope on continuing the mission. He had no idea on what to do now, since their brown haired sensei was still on the sidelines.

Who was going to be captain this time?

Boruto, on the other hand, was in his thoughts, brainstorming for any solutions on how they will continue from here. It was tough, there were ideas that came into his mind but none of them seemed to have the bigger chance to work.

"I'm not really sure, Naruto" The teenage blonde muttered back, as he adjusted his sitting position." But, if you asked me, I won't believed that this mission will be aborted anytime soon." He said.

Naruto gave a slight chuckle." I guess we have the same outlook in life." He said, while picking up a few small stones on the ground and started throwing each of them at the river.

Boruto gave a small smile while looking back at the river. "So what makes you think that this mission will continue?" He asked, wanting to know his young dad's explanation and reason.

Naruto gave a shrugged." To be honest, I'm not really sure." He said." But I always get this feeling that somehow if you believed on what you believed in, then it may come true in the end." He smiled.

"I guess that's what you told me."

He would then began to explained that during the early years of Team seven, they would be put in a situation where they were forced to put their differences aside and worked together to take on the challenge. He just can't count number of times that they were put into that challenge.

Boruto simply nodded as he took the time to listen to his young dad. He picked up anything that he could learn, improve, and overall recover that motivation and drive to continue on to which he did.

"By the way, there's something that I would like to ask you about."

Boruto snapped back from his thoughts and he saw the other blonde looking at him." Yeah go ahead man." He replied back.

"Well, have you ever fallen in love with a girl before" Naruto finally asked his question, wanting to know if the rookie had feelings for a girl.

Boruto gave chuckle." No, why do you ask?" He said.

Naruto gave the rookie a smile as he beckoned him to looked to a certain direction to which he did and he saw his raven haired teammate, who was preparing sanwhiches with the other girl.

"Well, I just noticed that whenever you and Sarada-san talk or something, that it almost looks as if you two are more than friends." Naruto explained." A couple to be exact."

There was a slight blushed from Boruto that the other didn't noticed. He knew he had to keep it together and still he doesn't quite know on does falling in love feels like.

"You know Naruto, I'm not quite certain." He said." Although, I always treat her as a part of the family already, much like my little sister." Boruto explained." She and Hima are the only ones that I have left since."

"Oh I see." Naruto replied while he nodded in understanding." I would always forget that part." He said." You three are really one big happy family."

"It's alright, sticking together is really important nowadays." Boruto said." But I guess that's why you guys never give up and keep finding ways to bring your friend back." He added.

Naruto gave a small smile." Yeah, Me, Sakura-chan, and Kakashi-sensei, swore to ourselves that we will never stop no matter what happens." He explained." All of us knew that there is still good in him and someday he might realize that power and revenge is not the answer."

Boruto gave a smile." I see, now I know the reason why this mission wouldn't not be aborted." He said, while the other gave a nod.

It was at this time that a certain familiar voice then heard calling the two blondes from behind.

 **"Hey guys!"**

The voice was revealed to be from that of Showtaro's. As the two blondes turned around at the same time, they both saw an exhausted but excited duck, who looks as if he seemed to have finally found a solution.

Naruto raised both eyebrows in surprised." I-Is that a talking duck!?" He asked, as he was very much startled.

"Showtaro? Are you alright? Is there something the matter?" Boruto asked. What could have happened right now?

As Showtaro finally recovered his breath, he then gave a look towards the two blondes as he raised up his feather-like hand in the form of a number one sign.

"Gather the rest of them, I finally have an idea on how to get your destination fast."

* * *

 **(GIRLS TALK)**

Preparing sandwiches had to be easiest task so far in this mission. At least for a certain raven haired girl. Sarada watched and observed her own hands as she used the plastic knife to spread out the peanut butter filling on a piece of bread intended for her blonde teammate.

As she finish the rest of her work, she took a quick glanced at their brown haired sensei, who was still in his slumber. It was at this time that her thoughts, in the form of worry, began to mingle with her yet again.

What was the worry? The state of the mission itself.

Sarada then took a deep breath before looking at her pink haired teen counterpart." Uhmmm, Sakura I don't mind asking, but are we really taking our time here to rest? She asked." I mean the enemy could've deserted the hideout once we get there." She added.

Sakura just kept silent and took a deep breath. In truth, she too was having the same thoughts as the raven haired rookie, but she wasn't showing her emotions about it. She immediately thought of her silver haired sensei, who was the main source for keeping her in a calm state.

She then finally gave the rookie a look and small smile, which told the latter to calm down." Well, I really don't know how to say this but, I think we're doing right thing." She said.

Sarada raised an eyebrow as she gave a confused look, although she was able to quickly realized the current state of the team and by just looking at theie brown haired sensei, who was still unconscious.

Sakura continued." Well if Kakashi-sensei was with us, He would've done the same thing as of now." She said. She would then go on to explained remind that the silver haired men was known as the "Zen Guy." The most calmest instructor that she had ever met and, even in times of struggle, he would always stay calm.

Sarada simply nodded. She was beginning to understand the lesson behind the topic. She was seeing the reason on how the team itself remained determined and strong despite the setbacks that plague them. Patience was the key.

* * *

 **(INTERVIEW)**

 **"I was really surprised and amazed on how the team was handling this situation. You can see that there were no panics, no worries, and they were all focus on getting back together and preparing for the next stage."**

 **"If you asked me, it kind of reminded me of how Konohamaru-sensei would handle it and how he would always keep things cool. It made me realized that things can't be rushed all the time."**

 **-Sarada**

 **"Sarada was being understandable and I kind of appreciate on how she accepting this. It might frustrate everybody but this was the right to do for now.**

 **"We believed in possiblities, and we don't exactly looked for them all the time but, they often looked for us."**

 **-Sakura**

* * *

 **(SURPRISED)**

"Sarada-chan!"

"Sakura-chan!"

It was at this time that a familiar voice called out to them and both girls stopped what they're doing and looked up to see the two certain blondes with both having the same excited faces.

Both Sarada and Sakura were just staring at the the two blondes as they raised both their eyebrows in confusion, wondering if something happened just now." Is something the matter?" Sakura was the first one to speak and asked.

Naruto, who was the most energetic one finally spoke." Yeah, there is something alright!" He replied, his eyes beaming with hope and determination.

"You won't believed this but we know how to get to our destination fast!" He added." We're not gonna walk or run but fly through there dattebayo!"

"Huh?" Sakura raised an eyebrow of skepticism. Instead of understanding the whole thing, she became even more confused.

Exactly, how they're gonna fly from here? There's no such thing as jutsus or abilities that can make a person capable of flight!

Boruto could only just gave his little chuckle as he began to scratched his head. His expressions was also noticed by his raven haired teammate who called him out.

"Boruto, what's the fuss about?" Sarada finally spoke and asked, giving that Uchiha look.

Boruto continued to scratch his head as beckoned the girl to look towards a certain direction." Well, I think you'll have to talk to Showtaro on this one." He simply said while giving a grin.

Sarada was even more confused. She understood what he mean't about Showtaro but she didn't understood on how a single duck could help them get to their destination.

* * *

 **(EASY TICKET)**

When the rest of the team had finally gathered in a certain spot, they eagerly listened to what their new companion's plan or idea was all about. Curiousity was the main thing in the atmosphere right now.

Naruto and Sakura were in an unbelievable state as they were seeing and hearing a talking intelligent duck in front of them. They really had no idea what was happening at the moment but they deduced that the duck was some kind of summon or a companion to the two rookies.

Boruto and Sarada were just trying their best calm the the two. When the questions started to land on them, they did their best to answer them in the most simplistic way as possible. Although, the two rookies were careful on not revealing to many details such as the whole Pure Land dilema.

As for Showtaro, He didn't mind and continued to explain his plan. The idea was about going to the location of hideout by flight and not by foot. It sounded so absurd at first but it may work. He knew that he was going to make some extra effort here. The details of the plan revolve around the duck himself as he was the main focal point here.

Showtaro would volunteer himself as the main transportation of the group by transforming into a big version of himself, enough for a handful of people to ride through him and then summoned a clone if the baggages exceeds the capacity. The only thing that he would need is more energy or chakra in order to perform this well.

"So what do you think guys?"

There was silence that took over between the rest of team, they all gave glances at each other before looking back at the duck.

"I guess it could work then." Naruto was the first one to speak and gave a smile followed by the others nodding in unison.

Showtaro then nodded before bringing up one more problem." Alright then, but what about your sensei over there?" He asked." Is he going to be alright?"

Quietness then took over again, the rest of the team's hopes were put into a temporal setback with the mentioned of their unconscious sensei. How are they gonna make this plan work with the presence of a sideline captain?

* * *

 **(INTERVIEW)**

 **"When everything was going downhill once again, an idea popped into my head. The idea itself is kind of a bit ridiculous but something tells me that its finally going to solve the last problem that we had.**

 **What's the idea all about? Well, it's simply about a certain scroll."**

 **-Boruto**

* * *

 **(THE SCROLL)**

"Are you really sure about this, Bolt?"

The question was finally asked by Naruto himself as He and the rookie both assisted a still unconscious Yamato on a certain spot where a big opened scroll was placed on the grassy ground. The scroll itself stretched all the way as it was big enough for any human being to fit in.

Boruto just gave a confident smile." Don't worry, this is pretty much the most possible way and safest thing to do, if we wanna reach our destination as quick as possible." He said and assured his blonde counterpart.

Naruto then chuckled." Man, I didn't know Yamato-sensei is this heavy." He commented." I mean what does he eat dattebayo!?" He asked.

"Well, we'll have to ask him that." Boruto replied." But I guess he has all the trees inside of him so maybe that's why he's this heavy." He added." No offense, Yamato-sensei."

Naruto gave another chuckle." Oh man, I hope this will work out." He said as the two blondes then carefully placed their sleeping sensei on the scroll, fitting him in there.

Boruto simply nodded. He knew that this was going to work because the scroll actually has that ability to house a human being inside and it was designed by none other than an old friend, a scientist by the name Katasuke, who also gave him a copy of the scroll before life turned upside down.

As for Naruto, he was a bit clueless yet interested. He had never scene a scroll that worked this way, most of the scrolls that he was aware of, were all ordinary scrolls than could accomadate weapons and other valuable but a human being? That would be a straight "No."

As their brown haired sensei lied there in sleeping fashion, the scroll started glowing brightly as it was finally activated much like a machine, moments later, the light died down and a puff of smoke took over and it when it cleared, the sleeping Yamato was nowhere to be in sight.

With that, Boruto proceeded to closed the scroll and put it inside his back pack for safe keeping." This will keep him safe for throughout the journey." He said.

"Man, that's some cool scroll technology thing there dattebayo!" An amazed Naruto commented." Do you have an extra for that, because I might need one for the future hehe." He added.

Boruto sighed but smiled. He just shook his head as he could only give his dad a little laugh. Of course, he also thought about the advancement and innovations of technology back in the future, on how he appreciated its capability to help solve a problem with ease.

The rookie then turned his eyes towards the two girls who were busy packing up some of their things. He then took a deep breath as he also prepared himself for the next journey ahead.

* * *

 **(DEPARTURE)**

"So this is a Chakra Pill? Interesting!"

Showtaro said as the duck observed a small round greenish pill on his feather-like hand. He was very much observant and examined the small thing.

"Yup, it may look small but it will surely give you the enough chakra that you need!" Sarada explained, it was the most fastest and easiest way for her duck companion to gain chakra that he needed so far.

Showtaro simply nodded in understanding. For years he had been into the human world and was aware the physics of chakra that the Otsutsuki clan introduced. Although, the only problem that he had was that he had little chakra in him and back in the Pure Land, it was mostly the spirit energy that everyone depends on. So with the help of the Chakra Pill, this will boost his own chakra energy.

As the everyone gathered at the main departure spot, the rest watched and observed as Showtaro took the pill and swallowed it.

"Wow, this taste like candy!" He commented, this was his first time taking a chakra pill.

There was silence for several seconds, Boruto, Sarada, Naruto and Sakura were holding their own breaths as if their life depended on it. There were little doubts left inside of them as they thought if this plan was ever going to work actually. Although, they always kept believing that anything is possible.

As for Showtaro, he gave them each a smile as he could feel the energy inside him building up and a few moments later he was then enveloped by a puff of smoke that suddenly appeared and surrounded him.

The rest of the team was a bit startled when the smoke puffed in front of them. Sarada slightly neared towards her blonde teammate and grabbed his arm like how a normal girl would do when she's startled.

"Alright this smoke is apparently taking its time." Boruto commented, with a slight of sarcastic annoyance in his tone of voice.

When the smoke finally cleared, the rest of the team was in for a shock as they found themselves staring at Showtaro, who is now triple the times his size as he became bigger and wider.

"You've got to be kidding me." Boruto muttered. He was seeing something unexpected and surprising yet shocking.

"No way." Naruto muttered, his jaw almost dropped.

"This is weird." Both Sarada and Sakura muttered to themselves. They had never seen this kind of scenario before but in the end, it's gonna be a major help for them.

Showtaro could only laugh as he then formed a familiar hand sign. Moments later, another smoke puffed out revealing a clone of him which he summoned.

"What are you guys waiting for?" He asked." Hop in!" He said, encounraging the rest to stop standing there and board in.

For a few moments the rest just stood there and stared at the now giant duck before proceeding on boarding him and the clone. Boruto and Naruto chose to board on the clone while the two girls boarded the original one.

"Showtaro, this is really cool!" Boruto commented." Is this your first time doing this?" He asked.

Showtaro simply but secretly nodded. It was his first time, and this was also the first time that multiple people would be flying along with him. This was going to be a tough and wobbly ride.

So with that, he prepared himself as he stretched out his wings and began to flapped." Are you guys all ready?" He asked once more.

"Yup we're ready!" Sarada replied as she gave the go signal.

Showtaro gave a confident smile as he finally readied himself for the big lift.

"Hold on tight, this is going to be one heck of a ride!"

* * *

 **(INTERVIEW)**

 **"When I ate that Chakra Pill and got literally bigger, it suddenly came into my mind yet again that this was my first time, and that I'm fully responsible for everything if something goes wrong during the journey, So I really hope that things would turned out well."**

 **-Showtaro**

* * *

 **(HIDEOUT)**

Gloomy and Menacing: Those were the words that the young root member would describe the whole hideout. The hostility was overwhelming since he arrived at the entrance and even now while he was walking through the dim-litted dark corridors.

His two official guides were none other than Orochimaru and Kabuto himself. They were in the midst of a conversation about their next plans and an occasional topic about the two rookies that the silver haired man relied the information to him.

Being Arrogant was one of the main characteristics of the snake sannin, when he learned of these new rookies, he quickly shrugged the idea of them being a threat, assuming that Kabuto just doesn't know on how to deal with kids.

Sai secretly shook his head and smiled. Somehow, he really enjoyed seeing the silver haired man getting denied everytime. He also felt sorry for him at the same time, although that wasn't his main goal here, it was something more than that.

Along the way, the two men began to converse with the young root, they began telling him more about Sasuke, and that he should really meet the person because of the simple reason that he was also a Konoha Shinobi himself. Sai kept quiet, he didn't quite believed that the guy himself would want to see a person from the leaf village, but in truth, he would only treat it as a kind of insult.

"Don't worry about Sasuke, He's not that bad." Orochimaru said." In fact, he'd just recovered from his injuries." He added.

Sai widened his eyes in surprised." Injuries?" He asked.

Kabuto sighed and nodded." It was not too long ago when during a training session with Lord Orochimaru that he suddenly collapse and fell unconscious." He explained." He was in coma for several days before fully recovering."

"Oh I see." Sai replied." What was the reason?"

Kabuto adjusted his glasses as he continued." It's simple, He overused his Sharingan." He said." That's what he gets for being too reckless." He then gave a slight laugh.

"Just be careful that you don't provoke him." The snake sannin then added.

 _"Hmmm, interesting_." Sai thought to himself _." I'll take note of it_."

* * *

 **(A LITTLE LATER)**

It was not too long that the three guys had finally reached their destination. A huge chamber room which acted as the training/sparring place for a certain raven haired teen.

Sai stopped his tracks as his eyes was greeted by a human figure sitting on a certain step from a distance away. A little later had passed, that he immediately realized the person that he was staring in front of him right now.

 _"Is it really him?_ " He thought and asked himself.

The two men beside him were just evilly smiling. They finally brought him a present, and coincidentally, that present came from the leaf village.

Sai could feel the atmosphere getting tense, he observed and surveyed his surroundings looking for any signs of other threats but so far, there weren't any except for the person in front of him, who was finally revealed to be the raven haired missing- nin himself.

Not too long, Sai could finally see the guy opening his eyes, revealing the infamous blood red Sharingan and followed by hearing the first words which directly came from the Uchiha himself.

 **"You're Late"**

* * *

 **(CHAPTER END)**

 **AN: Thank you for reading the chapter:)**


	60. Special Chapter: Visiting

**Arc 3: Phase 2:**

 **Special Chapter: Visiting**

* * *

Occassion was just a word for a certain raven haired young man. Itachi wasn't even sure on how many times he had secretly snuck in and visited the village just to see the compound, which was now a place of memorial and public attraction to the villagers. He just didn't care, if there was an opportunity, he would often take it much like now.

The young man stood and walked as he explored the rest of the compound, reliving the good old days which was now but a memory in his head. It was all but silent as of now, which he wanted anyway, keeping his cap intact on his head so that no one wouldn't recognize him.

There were a handful of villagers/tourist who were currently present at the compound, it was safe to say that not a single one of them recognized him. His disguised was just enough to make him look like an ordinary person and not the S rank rogue nin that he was perceived to be.

His blue skinned companion, Kisame was somewhere around the village, probably immersing himself with Sake, leaving their own inn room unit empty except for their other valuable things. The man must be enjoying himself and experiencing the life as an ordinary individual.

A dream that the Uchiha himself wanted to have for a long time.

The weather was fine on a weekday. It was not that extremely hot nor the wind that didn't blew strong, it was all coming together in a balanced way. Itachi found himself walking outside of his own home towards a certain area in the compound.

By the time he got to that area, he found himself staring at a familiar house to which was a treasure in his memory.

A small smile began to form around his lips. The very house that he was facing right now was once home to a certain raven haired girl, Izumi was her name, to his eyes, she was the most beautiful person that he had ever met. They were childhood friends to be exact.

Itachi took a deep breath as he then proceeded to enter the very house, which was now but an empty dwelling. Who would've thought that when he entered the place that things from the past were still there, it was exactly the same look that he last saw several years ago, except that it was now a silent place.

The sound of wood creaking as he continued to explore the place, dust and the smell of old was everywhere, he didn't bother to cover his mouth and nose, aware that it would affect his respiratory problems, as he quickly headed straight to a certain area in the house.

Once he got there, he felt as if entered into somekind of time loop. His heart stopped beating for a moment and eyes watched and his mind kept repeating the very scene, happened that fateful night.

He knew that it would cause less heartache when he decided to take her life away first but he didn't knew it would cause a sorrow and anguish that continue to haunt him to this very day. As much as he wanted to spare her alongside his little brother, he didn't have a choice.

He recalled falling into his knees and crying, while holding her into his arms. The only good thing that he take away was that Izumi died peacefully with a smile on her face with the last words of:

"Thank you."

Those words always kept him on the positive side but still it wasn't enough to erase the pain inside that he carried for all these years. Although, his goal wasn't over yet, he still had a little brother to save and he already had a plan for that.

He wiped the tears out of his eyes as he then took another deep breath to release the pressure. It was already enough as he proceeded to leave the area and towards the exit door of the house.

When he was about to grabbed the door handle, he immediately stopped on what he was doing as he felt a presence behind him, and when turned around to face what was from behind, he was greeted with nothing.

Itachi lowered his guard down, he thought he was the only one here in this house or maybe it was just his mind playing tricks on him again. He

always felt that he was being followed everywhere, considering his current status. He already had expected a scenario like that happening.

So far he was just ignoring all of it, all these things were considered a paranoia to him and nothing but trouble that would ruin his day. He just wanted to look and focus into the future.

Itachi was greeted by a lively sun as he stepped out from the house. He felt relieved from the pressure as he promised that he was going to do something new today. He had three days to secretly spend his time here in the village before resuming back to reality.

Speaking of Sarada, how is she been doing for these past days? It's been quite awhile since he had last seen her. He really hoped that she would be alright.

Of course she's alright! What was he thinking?

Itachi sighed, the girl was also one of the reason why he was in the village besides visiting the Uchiha Compound. He wanted to get to know her more and if all of that was true, the memories that he had seen from the girl, then it would be the most shocking but intriguing revelation that he had heard and seen.

He just can't wait enough, but the question was, which part of the village does she exactly lived in?

The question really: What is he exactly going to do?

He had two things in mind.

Visit the bakery shop where Sarada is presumably where right now? or Have a nice bowl of Ramen? which was also suggested by the raven haired girl herself.

Tough choices indeed.

* * *

 **(CHAPTER END)**

 **AN: Thank for reading the special chapter:)**


	61. Arc 3 Phase 2: Close Encounters

**I don't own Naruto. Mr Kishimoto Does.**

 **Author's note: Hey there Readers!, Looks like we've finally entered Arc 3! I Hope you guys enjoy! I would also like to thank you guys for the Reviews. Favorites, and follows :)**

 **Still, I haven't found a Beta Editor yet, so I'm really alone on this one.**

 **Take note: Welcome back to another chapter once again, This chapter will tackle the team's journey to the hideout, Sai's first encounter with Sasuke, and learning more secrets about the Uchiha himself.**

 **Also, feel free to share some of your ideas on how Boruto and Sarada will finally meet Sasuke.**

 **Expect some grammar and spelling mistakes along the way.**

 **Thank you for Understanding :)**

* * *

 **Arc 3: Phase 2**

 **Chapter 26: Close Encounter**

Sai secretly took a deep breath as he stood before the person that was considered one of the most dangerous individuals in recent times. The young member of root thought that he could handles this altogether but seeing the guy for the first time just sent shivers down his spine.

He secretly gulped for the first time, having this strange feeling of nervousness as he continued observing the other teen in front of him, whose full appearance was slightly shrouded by the darkness surrounding him. He just knew that those blood red eyes were directly staring at him even though he wasn't engaged in a conversation with him.

 **"You're late"**

Those couple of words were enough to make him snapped from his thoughts, bringing him back to reality.

"Am I mistaken? weren't you supposed to be here honing me new jutsus this afternoon, Orochimaru?" The Uchiha teen asked, his voice radiating with sarcasm directly towards the snake sannin.

Kabuto gritted his teeth in annoyance." There's that insolent tone again." He gave his own comment as a means to defend his snake master. He also just hated the Uchiha's attitude and guts.

There was quietness from the snake sannin himself. He didn't said a word for a little while, but to only hold his left arm and adjusting his sleeves to cover up the scars, that he sustained during the training sessions, secretly. This was also noticed by the moving eyes of Sai, who quickly took note of what was happening around him.

Orochimaru gave a slight smile." Don't worry, that will come Sasuke, But why don't we do something different today?" He replied back." Besides, I got a present that would likely cheer you up!" He added, pointing towards the young member root.

"He's a Shinobi from the leaf, I thought it would be a better way for you guys to reminisce!" He explained." Share some stories and memories from home." He gave a little chuckle.

It was at the same time that Sai gave a smile for the first time since. He was confident that he might be able to lower down the seriousness from the other teen and also gain some respect." You must be Sasuke Uchiha, My name is Sai, and it's very pleasing to meet yo-" He was suddenly cut at the end of his sentence.

"Get lost!" The Uchiha exclaimed, with disinterest in his tone of voice.

Sai was surprised to hear that kind of rude response, he still kept his smile, but deep down inside, he was shaken. He then took a deep breath again and continued with a new response." It seems that I'm the sort of person that people wouldn't like right away even if I wore a smile." He said.

"Naruto immediately dislike my efforts in a matter of seconds." He added, not aware that it slightly triggered the Uchiha teen.

Kabuto gave a smirk at the back." Nobody will ever like you." He muttered with an intent of insulting the teen. Although, he immediately felt the pain in his balls again as he gave a cringed.

Sai shook his head as he just smiled yet again before continuing his response towards the main teen.

"However, I think you and I are going to get along just fine, considering that were Leaf Shinobi after all." He finished his sentence with a smile.

There was no response from the Uchiha teen, he just sat there, staring at him with cold eyes. On the other hand, Sai saw this as a means to continue his words and he didn't stop from there. Although, he was about to speak when he suddenly felt numbness in his muscles.

Soon that numbness turned into aching cramps and pain as he suddenly fell into his knees, his eyes still staring at the blood red Sharingan.

" _What's happening?_ " Sai asked himself." _Why am I having this feeling and emotion?"_ He added.

Images began to flash in his mind, His world around him became distorted and he felt as if he was thrown into some kind hell accompanied by screams of people and giant corrupted eyes surrounding him. It felt like an eternity for him but in truth, it was only a minute. Soon, the images died down and he found himself back in reality again, albeit in a different condition.

 _"I'm sweating_." Sai thought as he found himself chasing for his breath. This was indeed a whole new thing for him. _" I don't have emotions, but I somehow fear him just by looking into his eyes."_ He added into his thoughts.

"It's not really a good idea to provoke Sasuke too much or else you'll end up like the rest of the guys." Orochimaru spoke this time." He's even more difficult than I am." He added, with a slight snicker.

Sasuke continued to observed the young member of root, he kept quiet for awhile before speaking up." You're a waste of time." He said then turning his attention to the snake sannin." If this is the only reason on why you're here for, then I guess I'll be leaving now." He said as he stood up from the steps.

"Wait!" Sai interrupted once again, causing the raven haired teen to give one last attention towards him.

"Naruto told me a lot about you." He said." He's been searching for you alongside with another teammate for the past three years now."

Everyone kept quiet as they waited for the Uchiha teen's response regarding about his infamous former teammate. They all expected a somewhat ignorant or arrogant response from the teen but as the latter finally spoke, they received a somewhat different response.

"You mean that good for nothing idiot?" He asked." And that annoying forehead?"

Sai smiled and nodded." Yes, they really treat you as a part of the family already." He explained." Especially, Naruto, he really thinks of you as a brother."

Sasuke gave a slight chuckle to which everyone's surprised, He then gave one last look at the young root." Oh I see." He said." Why I'm not surprised?" He added." Best of luck to them for trying to find me."

With that said, the Uchiha teen disappeared in a puff of smoke as he finally left the area leaving a confused and baffled Sai. He was puzzled and wondered if the Uchiha teen was trying to be sarcastic or serious or maybe just a combination of the two. In one simple word:

He was unpredictable.

While Kabuto and Orochimaru shrugged it off as only a part of personality or some teen angst, there was more to it than meets the eye.

* * *

 **(INTERVIEW)**

 **"During that time before Sasuke left off to somewhere, I saw a glimpse of a human shape figure but taller than him standing close behind him. As if it was another presence but it had the same energy as him and also had two red eyes same as him.**

 **"Or maybe It was just part of the Sharingan effect."**

 **-Sai**

* * *

 **(RIDE THE WIND)**

It was a kind of experience that the rest of the team would describe as breathtaking and life-risking altogether. Who would've thought that four Shinobi teens would be flying in the air right now, well not that they were capable of flying themselves but they were in fact riding through air via Showtaro. Yes, the duck himself who ate one single chakra pill and has now transformed into ten times bigger than his original size and can also able to summoned a clone of himself, with the same current size as himself.

It was crazy but at the same time it was somehow fun.

Naruto and Sakura felt like little kids as of now, they were very much enjoying every moment, this was in fact their first time flying through the air and riding a giant duck at the same time, still they couldn't figure out if Showtaro was summon, an ordinary duck or something else. But so far, he was one of the good guys.

The two main members of Team 7 found themselves riding behind the two rookies. Naruto was with the blonde rookie while Sakura was with the raven haired rookie. They were all riding through the air via the two giant ducks right now.

Naruto had this wide grin and the eyes of an excited child, he was moving his head all over the place, this was indeed a new experience for him, by just seeing the vast lands, the houses from small villages, the rivers and mountains from above, it was now safe to say that he was in another level of experience that he hadn't been on before.

Sakura, on the other hand, had the same feelings and reaction like her teammate, although she was more calmer. She really had to admit that this was a new experience for her and refreshing, away from the busy atmosphere of the hospitals and clinics. It was really indeed in another level.

It was during that moment in time, that both of them began having the same thoughts about the mission and their long lost raven haired teammate. Even though, the mission was on the brink of being aborted, they still kept their heads up and decided to continue on. They knew that it would be a bit life risking because their brown haired sensei is incapacitated and sideline for the rest of the mission, but they have been into missions like this before so it was not new to them.

They were doing this because they wanted to save and bring back their friend once and for all. They also couldn't help but thank the two rookies for giving them the motivation and hope that they really need to continue on, they were really not sure on what could have happen without their help.

Right now, they were gonna enjoy every moment of this ride.

* * *

 **(MEANWHILE)**

Sarada closed her eyes as she took one deep breath. Her thoughts were the only things that were entertaining her right now. She had to admit that this was a whole new high level of experience for her, literally high above the ground. Sure, she had jump from Hokage mountain before as a part of her training before and even riding a blimp back in the future. But to experience this kind of riding through the air with the strong wind almost blowing you away was really a ride to remember.

Still, there were these little butterflies that didn't go away and remained. Sarada felt as if she was going to fall, even though she was holding on to Showtaro's large feathers tightly. She decided to close her eyes for awhile in hopes for the nervousness to go away and she expected that she would be in this position for the rest of the journey.

It was at this time that her instincts began to take over and she quickly had a feeling or urged to open her eyes and turned into a certain direction, to which she really did. Her nervousness soon began to go away by the time she laid sight on a certain blonde haired teammate.

"Boruto?" She muttered under breath, wondering about the blonde teen.

There was really something about him that would always kept her calm. She was just really glad that her blonde teammate was here. For the last couple of minutes she kept her eyes on him and began to observed him. She was also unaware that a smile began to form in her lips. Finally finding comfort when she looked into him.

It was at the same time that Boruto felt something as if someone was looking or staring at him from a certain direction. He then proceeded to look towards his right side and immediately caught the source, which was none other than his raven haired teammate, who looks as if she was in a trance.

It was at this moment that the two locked eyes together in the most unexpected way. A good one minute of silence took over, Boruto was a bit confused, he wondered on why his teammate was giving him that look.

Was she hungry right now? or maybe She looks as if she really needs a hug or something?

This was really driving him nuts right now, and as he was about to let out his words, he was suddenly interrupted by his other blonde counterpart, who began to gripped and squeeze his shoulder tightly which really startled him.

 **"Bolt, I think I'm gonna throw up, Dattebayo!"**

Naruto had unexpectedly entered the scene, with his unpredictable antics yet again. He was so caught off in the moment that he began to experience air sickness and now he was about to explode at any moment now much to the blonde rookie's horror.

"Oh come on D-Naruto!" Boruto exclaimed as he began to move around to avoid being puked on." Not in a time like this!" He added, with annoyance in his tone of voice.

Sarada was also startled and has finally snapped back into reality. She found himself staring at two blondes struggling together. A young lord seventh who was about to puke and his future son who was doing all his best to avoid being a victim.

"Could you two please stop moving!?" Showtaro finally spoke for the first time, his eyes filled annoyance and slight panic." If guys don't wanna fall to your deaths, then it would best to behave or else!" He added. He also stressed the fact that if they keep doing on whatever they are doing, the clone might not handle the stress and would immediately burst out in a puff smoke, jeopardizing the two blondes.

Boruto and Naruto immediately straigtened up and started behaving as expected. Although, there were sacrifices which had to be made. The blonde rookie stopped avoiding and just accepted his fate of being puked on by his young dad, while the other tried his best on not puking, even reaching to the brink of swallowing his own puke.

Sarada and Sakura both gave grossed out expressions, both feeling sick for a few moments before laughter came into the picture as the best medicine for them.

Showtaro, on the other hand had a few laughs, but mostly focused on the flying part. He kept reminding himself that it was his responsibility on giving these teens a safe ride but it was going to be a tough challenge alright.

There was this time when he almost lost his composure because of the strong winds, causing the rest to slightly panic. The weather was very much windy during that time or so he thought. The strong winds would be later accompanied by dust of sands indicating that they have reached a different new place.

The rest of the team began looking around their surroundings to see what was going on. The general visibility was beginning to slide down as more sand kept on flowing towards their eyes, to which they immediately covered.

"Where are we?" Sarada was the first one to asked.

"Are we in a different place already?" Sakura then asked her own question.

"By the looks of it, I think we're currently inside a sandstorm!" Boruto replied, causing the rest to give him a surprised look.

"You've got to be kidding me Dattebayo!" Naruto commented. He was taken by surprised and even tightened his grip on the rookie.

"No kidding man." Boruto replied, cringing for a little bit." We gotta find a way out of here." He added." Showtaro, is it possible if you can speed this up?" He asked.

All eyes were on the big duck himself, he was the main pilot in this journey and he will be the one to decided on what would be the next step. There was a little quietness that followed before the duck finally made his decision.

Showtaro sighed, giving the rest of the team a serious look and a smile.

"Hang on tight!"

Showtaro exclaimed for another time as he and his clone prepared themselves to boost things up while the rest of the team did their part and braced themselves for a possible roller coaster ride.

It took no longer than a few seconds as Shotaro and his clone gave their aim on a certain direction and eventually gathering their speed thus in a matter of moments, boosted from their current position as the roller coaster ride began.

* * *

 **(INTERVIEW)**

 **"Going from one point to another was pretty much an easy task but if your starting point is inside a sandstorm, then that'll be a different story. When we sped up the process, the rest of guys were really trying their best on hanging on, so glad that they managed to overcome their fear of falling."**

 **-Showtaro**

 **"It was like this big portion of sand, attempting to go through your eyes! Even my glasses were helpless on the subject matter and there were times that you felt you were gonna let go because it was just too fast. I still don't know on how did we manage to get pass through the ordeal."**

 **-Sarada**

 **"Well, if you asked me, it was a fun Dattebasa! You may call it a scary ride, but I call it a heck of a ride!**

 **Although, the only problem is that young dad really gave my shoulders a beating and I can't even move them properly.(Chuckles)**

 **-Boruto**

* * *

 **(LATER ON)**

When they finally got over the hump and were able to passed obstacle of going through the sandstorm, the visibility became clear as day.

Most of everybody still felt dizzy over the whole process of riding through the sand storm, little annoying difficulties such as portions of sands had latched into their bodies giving them a hard time to focus on the main journey. Although. it was only a little problem that they were able to solve in a short period of time.

When the view had became clearer, the team found themselves looking over a familiar place which was revealed to be none other than a desert. This also gave confusion amongst the teens, especially Naruto.

"A Desert? Are we really going to Sunagakure?" The confused blonde teen asked. " And could the hideout be really here?" He added.

Sakura gave a sigh." Yes Naruto, in fact Yamato-sensei said something about the hideout having these structures above it in the desert." She explained, meaning that the location of the hideout was indeed located somewhere in the desert.

"You mean that over there?" Showtaro spoke this time, spotting portions of weird structures on an particular area in the desert.

The rest of the team then turned their attention over the direction that the duck had pointed to, and indeed they were all surprised that those were indeed looked like structures.

"I think so." Sakura replied back.

Showtaro gave a sigh yet again." Alright fellas, buckle up, we're heading there!" He announced to the whole team, before directing his path towards the new target with an increased speed all the way.

The Journey was nearing completion, sooner than later, the team finally reached the ground to which they finally arrived at their destination.

* * *

 **(EXPLORE)**

In all of the hideouts that Sai had infilitrated, this particular hideout was one of the biggest and explorable places that he had ever seen. The only surprising things about it is that the place itself was located in a desert and under its sand. The only clue on locating it would be the old ruined structures from above.

It was only that, the hideout itself could be compared to a large inn, with its rooms scattered all over the place, the purpose of those rooms were a mystery but he deduced that those rooms were for Orochimaru's henchmen or a prison for his experimental subjects.

He might never know the real truth inside those rooms unless he would take and effort to find all of it by himself, because he knew that in one of those rooms, is where his target is residing.

It was at this time that he found himself walking along the hideout dim-litted corridors and was being led by the silver haired man himself, who surprisingly had a new attitude, far different from his arrogant self from before.

"Nowadays, we hardly even received new members much like you." Kabuto said, as he began to entertain the teen with his stories along the way while the other continued to listen.

"I can't even recall on the last time we recruited new members, but if If my memory serves me right, Sasuke was the most recent one in three years." He explained, giving out a slight chuckle.

Sai didn't say anything but only nodded. He also wasn't that amused. He was just secretly been shaking his head and commenting on how bad they are in recruiting members for their insane experimental crusade on power and immortality.

"In those three years, much has happened." Kabuto said." When Konoha and the rest of the other villages intensified their man hunt towards us, we had no choice but to stay low and put to stop in our recruitment activities." He explained." Sasuke is so far our best recruited member.

He would then go on to explained that Uchiha teen had been almost driven into insanity because of his thirst for power and revenge. It almost caused his life because of that. The sparring sessions that were held almost everyday can be compared to deathmatches.

Of course, Orochimaru would emerged as the victor in those sessions. Treating the Uchiha teen as if he was a personal enemy to boost the latter's grit and strength of the mind. Kabuto himself was the lone witness to all those sessions, he saw how the development and progress increased as time passed by.

Kabuto gave a chuckle." I really don't know now on how did things had come to this." He said, his voice sounded as if he was questioning life itself.

Sai raised an eyebrow in confusion." What do you mean?" He spoke for the first time.

The silver haired man then gave the teen a look." I guess I haven't told you more about that yet." He replied, further increasing the confusion.

He then took a deep breath as he continued his story." If you recall on what I told you about Sasuke falling into coma before." He said and continued." That was the final time that I saw him lose to Lord Orochimaru." He added." During that session, He overused his Sharingan to the point where he instantly collapse on the ground and fell unconsciousness." He paused for a bit.

He then continued." We were actually expecting that to happened but when we were not aware that he almost died from it." He said, recalling that time they were in a race against time to save his life.

"So what happened after that?" Sai asked.

Kabuto sighed." Well, the problem eventually was solved, his life was saved." He said." Although, like I said before, He was put into coma for a number of days." He added, also stating that the number of training sessions were put into a halt.

"We were actually worried for the first time, and since he was very valuable to our plans, we did our best for him to live." He added. There were so much potential in the Uchiha teen.

Sai secretly shook his head in pity, the fact that the guy was blinded by his own goals of vengeance and wasn't aware of himself being used for their plans. He just couldn't see any hope for redemption.

"Although, things change differently by the time he finally emerged from his coma." Kabuto continued." He seemed a bit different altogether, He still retained his arrogancy but he wasn't that crazy kid anymore."

" _Interesting_." Sai thought to himself.

Kabuto gave another sigh." And He's now the victor in every sparring session." He explained, also stating that Orochimaru sustained even more injuries from the Uchiha teen recently.

It was at this time that the silver haired man finally stopped his tracks at a certain door, He drew out his keys, unlocked the door, and opened it revealing nothing but darkness. He then proceeded to walk inside towards a lone table with a candle on top, which was revealed by the light of the torches from the corridors. He took out a match stick, lighted it up, and brought light to the whole room.

"This will be your room." He said, as he turned around to face the teen.

Sai nodded, as he then proceeded to look around the room.

"The Bathroom is at that side." Kabuto pointed towards certain direction before heading to towards the exit. "We'll inform you if anything happens." He added, taking one more look at the teen.

" And one more thing, there's a small canteen just right near this area, feel free to get a snack!" He said before leaving the room.

Silence was now in charged once again, at the same time the man left, Sai began to make his move as he took out a couple of scrolls from his backpack. He placed to the two scrolls on the table, opened it, summoning a lone dark blue bingo book.

He can now finally set the plan in motion without suspicious eyes watching him.

* * *

 **(ARRIVAL)**

It was definitely ruins of a long lost forgotten ancient structure, at least that what they thought of.

The team became fascinated as soon as they stepped down on the sandy ground, after their adventurous flight from above. They soon began to explore the area, checking possible clues that could lead them to the hideout's main entrance.

Showtaro observed his surroundings once he had dispelled his clone and transformed back into his original form."Hmmm, this place seemed familiar." He commented as he continued to move around." Or maybe I just heard this place from somewhere before?"

He was confused at first, he can't seemed to remember all of it but he knew that this place was included in his investigation papers and then it immediately came back into his mind. "Oh now I remember!" He widened his eyes in realization.

This was indeed the place that He and Miyuki had discussed about prior to his meeting with Boruto and Sarada. A long old forgotten place where a guy obsessed with immortality was currently residing somewhere inside.

Now that he finally remembered all of it, the only goal that he currently had right now was to assist the kids on locating the entrance to this hideout. He just hope that it wouldn't be that tough to find it.

* * *

 **(LATER ON)**

Sarada was taken by excitement, she had this fascination of ancient buildings or structures since she was a little girl and as of right now, she felt as if she was really an excited little girl, admiring the sites in front of her.

She also couldn't help but bring out her smartphone, which still had good battery life, and proceeded to take pictures as remembrance for her a trip down memory lane in the future.

"Ooooh! What kind of markings are these?"

"These structures could really stand the test of time!"

"Oh man, this is so awesome!"

The sight seeing continued for about awhile, as the Uchiha teen filled her smartphone memory with photos and selfies of the ruined structures. During that time, she felt as if she was a tourist travelling around the world to visit this sites, she was on the brink forgetting everything before the interruptions came that brought her back.

It was during a time that she was in a certain area, along a huge structure taking her possible final selfie when the colour blonde made its presence known.

"Hey Sarada-chan! What's up!?" The voice of her blonde teammate broke the silence.

Sarada was indeed startled, she gave this weird face before pushing the button which instantly took a horrible photo of her being startled while the innocent goofy face of her blonde teammate was also captured. To top that, she almost dropped her smartphone.

"What the heck Bolt!?" Sarada exclaimed, giving her teammate an annoyed look.

Boruto was a bit surprised by his teammate's cute outburst, he then gave an apologetic grin." Sorry about that Sarada-chan hehe." He gave a little chuckle while scratching the back of his head.

"You do realized that if they see you with that, it may cause changes in the timeline." The blonde knucklehead teased.

Sarada rolled her eyes as she gave her teammate a deadpanned look.

Boruto, that's not gonna convinced me to stop from what I am doing right now." She said, while the other just replied with a goofy innocent smile.

The Uchiha teen then gave a sigh as she check the photo again. She found herself staring at a photo of her being surprised by a curious and innocent teenage blonde. She wasn't sure on whether to delete this or not but her mind was telling her not to.

It was also at this time when her fingers instinctively swiped the smartphone, thus bringing in another picture. When the Uchiha teen darted her eyes towards the smartphone again, her heart stop beating as she found herself staring at an old photo which consist of herself and her parents. A few moments later, a little of her emotions started pouring out in the form of sadness and joy mixed together.

She recalled the day when the photo was taken, her Papa had just gotten back from his journey and her Mama called for a Homecoming celebration, it coincidentally a festival was going to be held that day and it was perfect time for the Uchiha family to hangout and bond. The funny thing about this photo is that her Papa volunteered in a eating contest and almost won if not for Cho-cho's dad.

A smile formed around her face, she wished that she had the opportunity to relived this moment but by just looking at the photo and was the only thing for her to feel home once again.

Boruto was quiet, he gave a sad smile and placed his hand on his teammates shoulder. He could feel the emotion coming out from the girl. The only thing that he can do right now is give her the emotional support and he was trying his best all the time.

The blonde gave a smile." Don't worry, We can do this." He said, with a comforting tone of voice.

"I know." Sarada said, as she then took off her glasses and wiped out the little tears that managed to come out.

* * *

 **(INTERVIEW)**

 **"We were at the point, where things just kind of remind us that this was our reality now, we just gotta face it with a strong heart. We knew it was coming soon."**

 **-Sarada**

 **"There's not much I can do at this point but to give her the support that she needs. Even I'm getting those butterflies as time flies by, We're not sure on what's gonna happen by the time we go down in that Hideout."**

 **-Boruto**

* * *

 **(THE RABBIT HOLE)**

Do you really think the entrance to the hideout could be here?"

Naruto wondered, as he and his pink haired teammate were exploring the rest of the area for about twenty minutes now. They didn't expect that this area would be that wide and they really have to focus on locating it.

"Yes, It could be here." Sakura replied back." Yamato said something about a giant hole located in here somewhere.

Naruto raised an eyebrow in confusion." Wait, a giant hole? You mean like a secret entrance or somesort?" He asked.

Sakura simply nodded. In fact she too doesn't know where the giant hole was exactly located in this area. Before their brown haired sensei went Bananas, he had informed the pink haired teen that he had sent a clone to secretly pursue Sai, and even putting some kind of tracking object in him.

Naruto was surprised to learn that the information. In fact, he was glad that the man had a secret plan to further increase the progress of the mission. Now, they were only several steps ahead towards their goal.

Along the way, the two began to have a little conversation regarding the events happening as of now.

"It's really crazy to think that we are on our own in this mission, continuing it without our captain." Naruto commented, with realization in his tone of voice. He just can't get over the fact that they were placed in a position that they have a full control off.

Sakura gave a sigh." Don't try to think much of that Naruto." She said." It's not like we've done this before right?" She added.

"I guess you're right." Naruto replied with a little chuckle and then continued his words." I just kinda remember our first official D rank mission which turned into A rank mission in one day."

Sakura then widened her eyes." Oh you mean, the mission with Uncle Tazuna?" She asked.

Naruto simply nodded." Yeah that's the one!" He said before giving his teammate a look." How could you not remember?" He gave a little chuckle.

Sakura gave another sigh." I remember all of it, now that you told me." She said before giving a sad smile." It's just that we could've done better during that mission."

"We could've save Zabuza and Haku, they were pretty much redeemable at that point." She added.

Naruto could only looked down. He definitely agreed with the pink haired teen. There was that guilt which remained for years, that was the first time that they failed to save a couple of souls from falling down to a tragic end. They called it" Bittersweet" because those two were able to redeemed themselves but sacrificed their lives to prevent further destruction.

The world was just plain mean.

Then a thought came into their minds in form of a certain raven haired teen. Sasuke would soon later become a victim of a tragic story, he was in his path to darkness, although, there was still time, and the hope of saving him had not faded away.

There was a moment of quietness that took over, Naruto and Sakura were thinking about the possibilities that could happened as their mission progress, they were hoping that this was the time that they could really bring him back. Both still have the burden, and they're gonna carry it until this ends.

 **"Hey fellas!"**

A familiar voice from above interrupted and finally broke the silence.

Naruto and Sakura looked up to see a certain white duck calling out to them with excitement, as if he had discovered something big.

"You gotta check this out!" He continued his announcement." I think I found the giant hole entrance you guys were looking for!"

"Seriously?" Both of the teens asked in unison.

Showtaro simply nodded as he beckoned them to look onto a certain direction. When they did what they were told, they were in for a big surprised.

From a few distances away, there was a round giant hole near a large boulder, and there was a person standing next to that giant hole.

The person was revealed to be none other than, their brown haired Sensei, Yamato himself.

* * *

 **(LATER ON)**

There was confusion amongst the rest of the team regarding the presence of a familiar brown haired man. Boruto perfectly recalled storing an unconscious Yamato inside the scroll hours ago before they took flight with Showtaro. It was until he realized and learned from his young Aunt Sakura that it was in fact a clone of the man, which was sent to during and after the incident at Tenchi bridge.

"Man, this is so weird and unexpected." Boruto commented as he found himself watching and observing his young dad and young aunt, conversing with the clone.

It also turned out that the giant hole was not a secret entrance, but their sensei's clone had apparently used the Earth Release: Tunelling technique to dug out the ground hence why there was a giant hole in front of them right now.

"I guess we should thank Yamato-sensei for thinking in ahead of the mission." Sarada said, giving her sensei the credit.

Boruto gave a little laugh." I know, and by the looks of it, the clone is not gonna last that long." He commented, as the Yamato clone disappeared in a puff of smoke.

"Looks like we're on our own again." Showtaro sighed, adding his own comment.

It was at this time that Naruto and Sakura finally came forward, with them having an exhausted look.

"Are you guys okay?" Sarada asked.

"How did the discussion went?" Boruto added.

Naruto gave a sigh." Overall, it was fine, we're in the right place." He said then continued." But Yamato-sensei's wood clone kept asking questions about his original self." He replied." He was wondering on why he can't even sense the original one."

"So what did you told him?" Boruto asked, wanting to know their response.

Sakura gave a little chuckle." Well, we actually told him the truth on what happened during and after the Tenchi bridge incident." the pink haired teen said, she would go on to explained that the wood clone was so shocked that it suddenly and unexpectedly burst out.

"You've got to be kidding me!" Boruto surprisingly exclaimed, while Sarada and Showtaro gave their little laughs.

Naruto just shook his head." No kidding." Before drawing out two small objects in his pocket, which turned out to be seeds." Here, He also wanted you two to have this."

Boruto raised both eyebrows." Oh, what does these seeds do?" He asked.

"They're tracking seeds, these will help us locate Sai and also keep track of us altogether." Sakura explained as she poke this time.

"Cool!" Boruto said, excitement filling his eyes.

Sarada then raised a hand." So do you have your own seeds as well?" She asked.

Naruto nodded and smiled." Yup, we swallowed it." He said, with proudness in himself.

Both rookies then gave a cringed, they observed the seed, and decided that they're not gonna swallow these seeds. By the looks of it, the seeds were definitely not that appetizing.

"I think, I'll just keep it in my pocket." Boruto said as he placed the seed right in his pocket.

Sarada gave a smile." Me too." She said as she imitated what her blonde teammate did just now. Their millenial side coming out again. They don't really know much about these seeds, rather than they were already replace with advance tracking devices back in the future.

Naruto and Sakura both gave the two rookies a confusing look, before shaking both of their heads and shrugging it off as common rookie attitude and tendencies.

* * *

 **(A LITTLE LATER)**

"How deep is this whole by the way?"

The first question was finally said by Showtaro. The rest of the team had been preparing themselves for the past minutes, readying the necessary gear they need for an infiltration. Now they were all looking down and observing the big hole that their sensei's wood clone had dug.

It didn't take long for the rest to jump down as Naruto and Sakura had jumped down first leaving the two rookies and the companion duck behind.

"Probably more deeper than 10 feet." Boruto replied back, as he held his back pack tightly.

Showtaro then gulped, letting out his nervousness, to which the two noticed." Oh man." He muttered aloud.

"Is something wrong?" Boruto asked, wondering why the duck was a little afraid of jumping through a giant hole.

Showtaro then would go on to explained that he had a little phobia of falling down to such places. He almost fell on a hole which had giant snakes on it that attempting to eat him and almost got roasted when he almost fell into a mouth of a volcano.

Boruto and Sarada were surprised to learn this. They really were starting to believed that duck went through great lengths for the world to be saved.

Sarada gave an assuring smile." Don't worry Showtaro, we're doing this together and everything's gonna be alright!" She said.

"Yeah, it's gonna be alright dattebasa!" Boruto added with his Uzumaki grin.

For awhile there, Showtaro felt relieved from his thoughts and fear, these kids were really something." Well then, I must say thank yo-" He didn't get to finish his sentence as both of the teens grabbed him, securing him into safe position, and jumped down the hole.

"You said this was gonna be alright!"

* * *

 **(INTERVIEW)**

 **"I'm pretty sure that Showtaro did enjoy the ride down under, we're gonna get that phobia finally out of him once and for all! Dattebasa!"**

 **-Boruto**

* * *

 **(CANTEEN)**

In fact, Kabuto was really telling the truth, that the hideout really did housed a canteen area. It was not that bad to be honest, the place was clean and well-maintained. He was also not alone, as the canteen was currently occupied by the hideout's residences or to simply put as the snake sannin's captives who been prisoner for a some time.

The young member of root took off from the counter as he finally was able to get his snack, which consist of a sandwich and a cup of cold ice orange juice. It was not too long that the teen was now finding his own seat, and his eye caught a person sitting on that particular seat.

As Sai got closer, the person was revealed to be that of a lone boy, eating his own snack, in silence. By the time, he got to that particular area, he stood looking over the boy.

At the same time, the boy look up revealing his facial appearance. He was somewhere about ten to eleven years old, he had slightly spiky dark brown hair and eyes, and he had that look which reminded him of a certain blonde teammate.

The boy simply nodded, as he allowed the teen to sit at the opposite seat.

Sai gave a smile." Thank you very much." He thanked the boy." My name is Sai, what's yours?" He asked in a very awkward manner.

"Mitsue." The boy replied." Are you new here?" He asked.

Sai nodded in response." Yes! in fact, I was invited here!" He responded happily, while the boy just gave him a weird look.

"Oh okay, at least that's good." The boy named "Mitsue" said.

Sai raised a questioning eyebrow." What do you mean it's good?" He asked. He was curious.

The boy sighed." It's good because you were not kidnapped or force to join here in order to survive." He explained.

"Why did you even join here in the first place?" Sai asked, while the boy just gave him a look.

"I didn't join this place, I was forced too." He said, he would then go on to explained that he used to have a family that he cherished very much, but soon those days would be over as he was taken away from his family and brought here as a means for the madman's experiments.

Sai simply nodded in understanding. He also gave a sad smile, aa he took pity on the boy even though he rarely shows his emotions." I'm sorry for your lost." He said.

"Don't be." The boy said, as he gave the teen a small smile." Someday, I will see them again." He added.

"Although, the only good thing about this place is that you get to meet new people and make friends with them." He added.

"Friends?" Sai asked.

The boy "Mitsue" nodded again." Yes friends!." He said before continuing with a question." Did you ever have friends before?" He asked.

Sai was just silent for awhile. The question really did hit him in the heart. It was true that he really didn't have that a lot of people that he can consider as friends. He was a loner in the first place and lack the social skills to do so, but surprisingly he was doing all of this right now.

"No." Sai simply replied." But I'm looking forward to find a friend myself." He added.

"Do you happen to know a person name Sasuke Uchiha in this place?" He followed with a question.

At this time the boy's eyes lit up when heard the name being mentioned." You mean the guy with the duckbutt hair?" He asked.

Sai was a bit surprised to see that kind of reaction from the boy. Did he knew the Uchiha personally?

The boy gave a smile." Of course, I knew him!" He said." He's my friend!" He proudly said.

"You're friend!?" Sai exclaimed for a little bit." For how long?" He asked.

The boy then became silent for awhile, as if he was thinking of a good way to explain his story." Well, not that too long ago." He said." It was just recent to be honest, maybe a few weeks ago."

Sai nodded, his interest on the subject was increasing. The boy would then continue to explained that the Uchiha teen used to be quiet and emotionless. He wouldn't even speak to anybody, let alone Orochimaru who was in charge of training him. It would continue on until the day he was put into coma during a training session.

Mitsue then continued to tell him that there were unexpected changes that happened after that incident. Mainly the Uchiha teen, who seemed had undergo a bit of a personality change when woke up from his coma.

Things such as that he was more respectful and became a bit friendly with the other people here in the canteen. It was not only that, occasionally, he would flashed a smile which was not even his cup of tea for a very long time. He would soon go back to his original self whenever Orochimaru or Kabuto was around.

Information like this were pretty much hard to believe, at least for Sai. If he was going to believed on what the boy was telling him, he might as well find it out for himself, since he had to fulfill the mission of asassinating him later on.

Although, Sasuke Uchiha was indeed an interesting individual.

* * *

 **(ARRIVAL)**

The dim-litted and gloomy atmosphere of the hideout's corridors greeted the team by the time they managed to blow up a passage way in order to sneak inside. Once they got there, they were quite surprised to see that the hideout wasn't they expected as it was to be.

"Is it me or did they gave the hideout a dungeon makeover?" Boruto asked, as he observed the surroundings around him.

"Beats me, this place also has a lot of rooms." Naruto added his own comment." Pretty much a dungeon hotel."

Sakura gave a sighed." Dungeon Hotel or not, we gotta be careful now, that we're in hostile territory." She said as she reminded the two boys to be alert and cautious at times.

The team found themselves currently at the first stages of the hideout. They all had the feeling that this place was going to be huge enough for a long exploration. So the group had a brief meeting on what to do next. It didn't took long enough for all of them to decide that they should split up into two groups because that was the only way for them to increase their chances of locating Sai and Sasuke.

The two groups were created once the split commenced. Boruto and Naruto teamed up together while Sarada and Sakura were in the other team. As for Showtaro, he was given the decision on choosing the group that he would accompany during the split up.

This time, he chose to go with Boruto's group, with the intention of also needing their assistance on a certain case, which was part of his investigation mission here in the human world, and that the location this said investigation is coincidentally here in this hideout.

Once everything was sent in motion, the team proceeded to split up and their mission had finally began.

* * *

 **(INTERVIEW)**

 **"Splitting up was by far, the most possible way to boost up the search, I can really tell that my heart is beating faster right now. (Chuckles)"**

 **-Boruto**

 **"I guess I'll be in same thought level as Bolt right now, We're getting very anxious and a little excited as time passes by, just to meet the person, who is the main focus of this mission.**

 **"Time will tell."**

 **-Sarada**

 **"I will just try my best to guide these kids throughout this hideout search, the enemy is still watching from behind the shadows and its part of my job to assist them if anything out of the ordinary happens."**

 **(CHAPTER END)**

* * *

 **AN: Thank you for reading the chapter :)**


	62. Arc 3 Phase 2: Close Encounters Part 2

**I don't own Naruto. Mr Kishimoto Does.**

 **Author's note: Hey there Readers!, Looks like we've finally entered Arc 3! I Hope you guys enjoy! I would also like to thank you guys for the Reviews. Favorites, and follows :)**

 **Still, I haven't found a Beta Editor yet, so I'm really alone on this one.**

 **Take note: Welcome back to another chapter once again, This chapter will tackle the second part of the team's journey inside the hideout, Sakura and Sarada's misison to locate Sasuke, Naruto and Boruto's journey as well and also assisting Showtaro in his extra side mission.**

 **Also, feel free to share some of your ideas for future chapters.**

 **Expect some grammar and spelling mistakes along the way.**

 **Thank you for Understanding :)**

* * *

 **Arc 3: Phase 2**

 **Chapter 27: Close Encounters Part 2**

"So do you think she could help us again with the plan?"

"It is most certain Lord Orochimaru, if you wanted to speed up the process."

In a dim-litted room, the snake sannin sat down on his chair as his eyes focused on a certain direction of the screen. The source of light, which came from the projector, created the visualize images of the plans for the certain future. It also gave new information to the snake sannin, which currently being explained by his silver haired henchman.

The information was all about a certain former female individual, who used to be part of the snake sannin'a brigade. The topic about her only came to life when the changes in his body began to take effect. The deteriorating process was increasing as more time passed by.

"I assure you that her whereabouts could be easily trace, that will happen if you give me some time to track her current location." Kabuto added to the information, it was true, it's been a very long time since she left.

Silence had took over, there was uncertainty on the snake sannin's eyes. Sure he understood the fact that Guren would be a benefit for his plans but time was running short, and he needed the best possible way to avoid being part of the deteriorating process. This vessel was rejecting him and he knew it would all over once it reaches the breaking point.

As for Sasuke, He just wasn't still ready yet. He hadn't reached his full potential and it may take some time for him to be the immediate candidate. Not just that, all of his test subjects weren't fit to be vessels. They all had weak bodies which also couldn't take the impact of his experiments.

Even though, Kabuto did his best to find the most possible ways, the snake sannin still wouldn't agree to each one of them. His heart would probably prefer the Uchiha himself as the best and final candidate for being a vessel. But still, it wasn't the right time yet and they had to choose other options.

" ** _Why would you hesitate?_** " A faint male voice was then suddenly heard whispering only to the snake sannin's voice.

 _ **"Don't you want to achieve your goal as fast as possible?**_ " The faint voice added again.

There was this feeling of encouragement that suddenly surged up within the snake sannin's mind. He suddenly felt as if these options or proposals were now very important to him. He didn't understood what was happening to him but he moved his and nodded unconsciously.

Kabuto was surprised to see that the snake sannin nodding and agreeing with his proposals. It was very strange for him to see the man like that as he would normally be standing on what he believed in. No one could easily convince or persuade him, but this time, it was a rare moment.

"Just go with the plan Kabuto, Make sure that things will go according to what you've discuss." Orochimaru finally spoke, his tone and words were clear as day.

Kabuto simply nodded in understading, with him getting the permission he needed, it was safe to say that he can now proceed to the next step. After all, the intention was for the greater good.

A win-win solution.

The two men thought that they were making up the decisions by themselves, it was unbeknowst to their knowledge that another presence was with them inside the room. Undetectable and free, the presence was revealed to be that of a familiar figure standing from behind, influencing their minds to decide.

Tensai knew from the start that these two men were one of the easiest ones to manipulate. Sure, they were deemed dangerous by these villages because of how many they have killed, but to him and the organization, they were just ordinary throwaway pawns for the greater plans ahead.

There were these specific events that the organization needed to achieve. In order to reach and make those events happen, they chose specific individuals such as the snake sannin and Kabuto, whispering to their ears, and influencing their decisions to create a domino effect which will lead them to that event.

The organization, which was established, long ago after Kami's sacrifice, had a goal of creating a new world away from the old one. They've been manipulating and changing events in history into their advantage, without the knowledge of the council or from any of those officials from the Pure land. They were also not alone on this one.

Their true goal was only a secret for now.

A small smile formed across the dark brown haired man's lips. So far everything was according to the plan. There were no interruptions or whatsoever, he had took over this operation by himself in hopes of avoiding any errors that would take place if one of the members took over. It was only a moment then when he suddenly felt multiple presences that had entered the place.

His eyes then drifted to a spot where a group of monitors are located, showing the different areas of the hideout. In a few moments, Each of those monitors began to off one by one and in that time, he caught a glimpse of feathery white blocking the view before going all static.

"The monitors are going off!?" The voice of Kabuto then exclaimed. The annoyed silver haired man immediately went to the said area in. an attempt to check and fix the problem." They always go off at the wrong time!" He added.

Orochimaru just only shook his head and placed his hand on his forehead." I guess you need to replace those outdated piece of technology Kabuto." He commented while the silver haired man ignored the snake sannin's comments.

Tensai stood there silent as he observed the silver haired man panicking. Although, he paid no heed to the man's worries as his attention directed towards the newcomers and a small devious smile forming around his lips.

"Looks like their finally here."

* * *

 **(EXPLORING)**

"You think that's the last of it?"

"Yeah, I think it is, for the time being."

Boruto let his focused eyes down, as he disabled the supposed last of the CCTV cameras in the whole area. Whenever they managed to come across one, they would immediately proceed to disable it by hooking out all the wires inside the cameras and trying their best not to dropped them on the floor. Making a lot of noise is not their best priority right now.

Once the disabling process was finished, they took a couple of minutes to rest. They didn't even bother to count on how many cameras that they have disabled but rather just focused on discussing the strategies on how will they navigate the whole hideout.

"Looks like this Orochimaru guy has hundred of rooms in this sanctuary." Showtaro commented as he observed the metallic and wooden doors." Does he intend to keep his victims inside there for a long time there?" He added.

Naruto gave the first little chuckle." Well, everyone in the team used to think that the snake bastard was obssesed with kidnapping and keeping children." He said." Although, I think he is still doing it till this day."

Showtaro gave a disgust cringe." Well, I guess this will be the only and final time that we would discuss this." He said as his mind can't even imagine the scenarios of those kidnapped children.

The duck himself was disgust to hear that the human would commit horrible acts such as this. It makes him wonder on why the people in this world had slowly been corrupted and after Kami's sacrifice, the corruption had become more worst.

They continued the journey without discussing the topic more further.

Boruto took the reigns as the temporary leader of his group, which consists of himself, his young dad, and Showtaro, who were exploring the corridors of the hideout for a good amount of time already. They've been into each room that they came across and so far there were still no signs of their target.

They already had expected that the search wasn't going to be an easy task and so without any complains, they continued and still kept on going as the rest of the time passes by.

Despite the thoughts and worries that continued to circle around their minds, the guys, especially Boruto were able to keep in touch with the other team via a walkie talkie that the blonde rookie himself had brought for this mission, The other team, which consisted of the raven haired rookie and the pink haired kunouchi were the reasons why there was calmness around the the guys

Boruto, indeed was secretly thinking about his raven haired teammate for the past hour. The Uzumaki teen gave a sigh of relief when her voice first came out from the walkie and that's when the first conversation between the two camps started.

"Bolt, do you copy?" The voice of Sarada , from the walkie, finally came out.

Boruto then immediately pressed the button and replied." Yup, looks like the reception is wide and clear beneath the ground." He commented with a little chuckle.

 **"How's everything so far?"** The voice of his teammate asked. **" Have you guys found any clues to P-Sasuke's whereabouts?"** She added.

Boruto gave a sigh." Nope not yet." He said before turning his head towards his young dad and Showtaro, who were also eavesdropping or just listening to their conversation. At the same time, both of the guys then turned back to their former positions and pretended as if they weren't listening the whole time.

Boruto gave a short laugh as he shook his head before turning his attention back to the walkie.

"We're still sweeping the corridors, most of the rooms that we came across were pretty much empty." He explained." So far, no signs of Sasuke or Sai here." He added, he had to admit that these guys were really tough to locate in a place like this. They pretty much almost looked the same, except that Sai was more socially awkward than the brooder.

The two continued to talk about Sai, and the next step that they would do if they either of them crossed paths or encountered him during the search.

"Stupid Sai!"

"Gay Idiot!"

Naruto can be heard blurting out a number of offensive and foul comments which caused the rookie and Showtaro to give away surprised glances at him, with Boruto mostly having the serious looked at him.

" **Yeah same too, looks like this will take a lot of time for awhile."** The voice of Sarada replied at the same time.

Boruto gave another sigh before turning back to the walkie." I know Sarada, but we still gotta keep searching." He replied." I have a feeling that we're getting closer to either of those two, so be ready." He added.

There was a brief moment of quietness that took over, Boruto can sense that his raven haired teammate was dipping in her thoughts.

 **"Yeah, we'll be ready.** " The voice of his teammate finally replied.

As the conversation concluded, Boruto placed the walkie back on his pocket. He took a deep breath as he turned around to face his young dad and Showtaro, who also had just finish eavesdropping.

"So how did it go?" Naruto was the first one to asked.

"Did the girls finally found something?" Showtaro added.

Boruto simply shook his head and gave a sigh." Nope, they haven't found any traces of the two." He explained, before directing his eyes towards Showtaro.

"So Showtaro-san, you said that this hideout is also a part of your investigation? He asked.

Showtaro gave a surprised look before nodding." Uhmm, Yes, I was actually planning to asked you two, if you could also assist me during your search." He said, as awaited for the blonde's response.

There was a moment of quietness that took over before the rookie gave him a smile and nod." Alright, if you could just tell us the details and more about this investigation." He said, while the other simply nodded.

"I will." Showtaro replied.

As for Naruto, confusion took over his mind. His eyes darted between the two guys as he wondered about this investigation that they were talking about. He only knew that Showtaro was a kind of summon but he didn't know that he also had a mission of his own which was pretty strange and new to him.

Exactly, what was this investigation all about?

* * *

 **(MEANWHILE)**

Sarada sighed as she closed out another door yet again. It was probably the hundreth door and room that she had searched through only to discover the disappointment yet again, as like many other rooms from before, it was all nothing but empty and no signs of either Sai or Sasuke.

"Still no sign either of them here."

Sakura simply nodded, the pink haired teen had already expected that this was going to be a tough search. There was also uncertainty in them that they weren't sure on which of the two guys will they search first. Anything can happen during this search, but still, both of their two targets were considered to be dangerous as of now.

The two girls continued their search as they found themselves exploring the hideout, traversing through occasional mazes and searching through every room that they came across which all turned out to be empty so far. The two girls wondered the purpose of these rooms, What were they all for? Why there were more than a hundred of them in this very hideout?

It was yet another mystery as the raven haired girl came up with several theories, a couple of them were considered to be the most possible or logical theory with one suggesting that the rooms could be intended for the snake sannin's newly recruits for his gang that would follow or obey anything for his goals or the rooms could belong to his experiments.

Having the same thoughts, both girls' minds slowly drifted to certain person. At this time, they can't help but think of a raven haired teen known as Sasuke. Anxiousness and excitement were slowly creeping up to them, they were really not sure on what to do if they ever crossed paths with him during this search.

At the same time, both girls felt each others worries, they both turned to each other and let out the same question:

"Are you alright?" They both said to each.

"You look very worried." They added both again.

"Jinx!" They softly exclaimed before giving their own little chuckles.

"I'm so sorry about that." Sarada was the first one to speak while scratching the back of her head.

Sakura gave a smile and sigh." Me too." She said." I guess we're having the same mind waves right now." She added, not knowing that the rookie was thinking about the same person right now as her.

"I know, searching for two troublesome people is kind of stressful." Sarada gave her own comment. Using Shikadai's signature line.

Sakura reacted to the raven haired rookie's statement, reminding her of a lazy friend named Shikamaru. Indeed those two teens were considered to be troublesomes as of now, leaving this tough task or challenge for the girls and rest of the team to locate by themselves without a main leader in their brown haired sensei.

While continuing the search, the conversation also continued between them.

"You've been keeping that anxious face for awhile." Sakura commented, as she voiced out her concern for the rookie. She had been wondering on why she looked more nervous now than the time of the incident back at the bridge. What was really bothering her? Was this some kind of rookie trauma affecting her and if not, then what was it?

Sarada simply gave her a reassuring smile." Nope, I'm just fine." She replied." It's kind of a surreal thing for me in a mission like this." She added." As if this already had happened before."

There a slight puzzlement from the pink haired teen's eyes before raising both of them in a surprised." You mean like a strange case of Dejavu?" She tried to clarify.

Sarada simply nodded." Something like that." She said. Although, she knew that this kind of experience already had happened before once.

Sakura was bewildered, she was aware that the rookie was a first time Shinobi and only been assigned into her second mission, but it did really made her confused and intrigued her the fact that her rookie counterpart was having the same feelings as her in this mission. As if, she knew what was gonna happen next or that she also somehow knew Sasuke even though she'd never met him before.

Sarada kept quiet, she tried her best not to expressed her true feelings about the subject. Although, there were times that she couldn't help but to let out some of the emotions that she had been hiding inside of her. She never knew that she would be meeting her Papa once again, or at least the younger version of himself.

She could feel already feel the moment getting closer.

* * *

 **(LATER ON)**

As their search continued throughout the neverending corridors, the two girls encountered a couple of challenges, with one of them in the form of CCTV cameras attached on some of the walls. The only solution that they had was to sabotage or break each one of them carefully, but when they were about to do what they have to do, surprised came in directly, as it turned out that the cameras weren't even working and were just there as a display.

This baffled the two girls even more, they were in a potential high class hostile hideout and the cameras weren't even working. What was really going on right now?

"I'm starting to get the feeling that these cameras were only here for display just to intimidate anyone who dared to go through here." Sakura spoke this time, examining her surroundings.

Sarada simply nodded." I know right, since this hideout have cameras that don't even work, then couldn't they afford some proper lighting system rather than be using a torches?" She added and wondered.

"Well, I guess so, looks like their money management just really suck." Sakura added, which automatically causes an exchange of small laughter between the two.

"Oops, I really didn't mean to be laughing my butt off right now." Sarada said and apologized.

Sakura manage to calm herself down." It's alright, we've been so serious for the past hour that we almost forgot how to laugh." She explained to which had a point. They really need to at least release bad tension that had been building up inside of them.

Sarada just smiled, she understood that they needed this little moment to get a sigh of relief, In fact, it was only short-lived as their search was almost over by stumbling upon an unexpected new presence heading towards their direction.

Foot steps were suddenly heard as a shade of shawdowy black could be seen from a near distance to which immediately alerted the two teens.

"Someone's coming!" Sarada whispered to her pink haired counterpart as they turned their heads around to look for any areas or spots fit for hiding.

Sakura could only nod back as she also attempted her best on not letting her anxiety get the best of her as she also checked out some of the rooms surrounding them. Maybe these rooms or at least one of them isn't locked this time.

As luck was on their side, a certain room was not locked, and the pink haired kunouichi immediately turned the knob and quickly opened the door." Got it!" She said, before turning to the raven haired rookie.

"Sarada! quickly in here!" Sakura called out as quietly as possible and signalled the rookie to rush as fast as she can inside.

Sarada did not hesitate, as the newcomer was fast approaching, the raven haired rookie wasted no time and rushed towards the room, carefully semi-closing the door so that they can have good view of the newcomer.

* * *

 **(INTERVIEW)**

 **"Our hearts were really pounding, we were in the middle of a conversation trying to calm ourselves down and the next thing we know, we're already getting into a state of panic on finding a hiding spot from this unexpected newcomer.**

 **And something came up and we began to think that this could be either of the two."**

 **-Sarada**

" **We waited for about several seconds for this person to show up. Lo and Behold, we finally found something that was definitely a part of the jackpot.**

 **And to explained it simple terms: The person that came up in front of our eyes was indeed Sai."**

 **-Sakura**

* * *

 **(DISCOVERED)**

Heading back towards his own room, Sai walked through the dim-litted corridors once again with new thoughts and a new perspective in his mind. The young member of root was quiet as he thought about his previous conversation between him and the boy back at the small canteen. The conversation was very much interesting and it gave him more information that he needed about his target.

The infamous story of Sasuke Uchiha had reached into a level that can be considered as a local tale or rumour amongst the Root, and for them, locating this certain person was already challenge for them because of his ellusiveness. He was already part of the of their top most wanted persons to assassinate for the sake of their superior's measures to protect the village.

There were already many attempts and many members that were sent to locate the guy and eliminate him. Nobody knows what happened to the rest of those members, since some of them returned with failure in their bags or some had never returned back. Sai found himself, as one of the recent attempts and he had to make sure that this attempt would be successful this time and the last.

The last thought that came up into his mind was about "Mitsue" the boy that he had a conversation with earlier at the canteen. Mysterious was the only word that he could give as a description for him. It was this innocent and calm boy, who provided him more about the place and learned that even he himself has difficulty of locating the guy since this was a very wide and convoluted hideout that can be already compared to a maze.

With that said, he finally had a plan formed inside his mind.

Sensing that his journey back to his room was nearing completion, Sai took the last few moments to think about his time at the canteen, the poor people there who were probably taken away from their homes and forced to work or be subjects under an insane man's experiments. Speaking of Mitsue, the boy spoke as if he had been in this place for a very long time, he had the eyes of someone longing to rest from all this mess.

As much he wanted to help the boy, it was very much not a part of his mission. His mind was focus on one goal and that is to locate the rogue Uchiha and eliminate him.

Sai stopped his tracks as he found himself staring at the brown wooden door which act as a bridge between him and his temporary room. As he was about to reach the knob, he suddenly felt something from behind as he stopped and turned around to see nothing but the blank space. For a several moments he observed his surroundings to see if he can catch anything suspicious with his eyes, he even walked a a few steps to investigate and so far not a single soul was around.

Concluding that no one was following him, the black haired teen then grabbed the knob and opened the door, he immediately entered his room and closed the door shut.

* * *

 **(MEANWHILE)**

Both girls released their breath as they sighed in relief. They had been hiding in that small corner for a good amount of time now, as they also kept their eyes on a certain black haired teen.

"Looks like he went back to his room." Sarada whispered as she was the first one to go out from the hiding spot followed by her pink haired counterpart.

Sakura had a blank and clueless expression, for the first time, she didn't knew on what would be the next step after this, she was behind the raven haired rookie and for a few moments was depending on her and was about to asked the next step, before her main self came back to her.

"I think, we should carefully sneak in and surprise him." The pink haired teen suggested, as she took over and pointed towards the door while slowly heading towards there without making any loud foot steps.

Sarada simply nodded." Good Idea." She said as she gave the pink haired teen a confident smile.

The two teens then positioned themselves beside the door as they readied themselves for their first action inside this very hideout.

* * *

 **(MEANWHILE WITH SAI)**

Immediately after entering his room, Sai quickly resumed back to his works. The young root headed towards the table where The scroll and the rest of his things were placed. So far there weren't any signs of Kabuto or anyone breaking into his room and rampaging through his valuables, they were all intact from what he last saw before.

Sai took a deep breath as he continued on his plan, opening his bingo book, flipping the pages, and stopping at a page which contained the details of the known information of his target. At the same time, he was also looking at the scroll and it's symbols as his mind was deciding on which Ink creature would be best to used at this time.

For the past couple of minutes, he began constructing his plan, taking any best possibilities and crossing out anything that would lead him to a dead end. He reminded himself that this hideout was a very huge place and he cannot locate his target all by himself, so he needed a faster and efficient way to do it.

When He finally decided on an Ink creature to summon, the young teen immediately formed several types of hand signs as he began to summon a number of the Ink creatures. Although, the only catch is that it may take some time for his summon to materialize in its physical form, so he had no choice but to wait.

It was at this time that the young teen began searching through his back pack to find a certain book of his. Confusion and Panic began to creeped out as there was no trace of the book. Sai was getting annoyed, he kicked the foot of the bed in frustration as he realized that his carelessness got the best of him earlier as he assumed that he dropped his book somewhere in the forest during the incident at Tenchi Bridge.

It was at this time that he suddenly heard a knock coming from the door. Sai immediately turned around to face the source of the knocking. His right hand then grabbed the Kunai and proceeded to slowly walked towards the door.

 _"It's either him or Kabuto_." He thought to himself as he kept guessing between the two. Although, it doesn't really matter for him right now.

As he reached the door, there was this feeling of cautiousness that took over, sensing on whoever is behind the door, was hostile and also had bad intentions. So he gripped his Kunai tight and reached for the knob yet again.

By the time He had readied himself and was about to tilt the door knob, something very unexpected had happened as the door in front of him suddenly burst open hard that it directly hit him in the face and sent him sliding on the ground and towards the table which he crashed on.

 **"Shannaro!** " A familiar voice of a girl was then heard exclaiming.

Sakura kicked the door so hard that it was forcibly opened and literally broke the knob. She entered the room with her usual rage, unaware that she already hit a certain person in the head." Alright Sai where are you!?" She exclaimed one more time.

Sarada was a bit startled when this happened, from being in a nervous state, her young mom was suddenly fueled by her motivation as she suddenly stood up and performed this strong kick that pretty much broke the door. The other surprising part was that Sai was coincidentally near the door and unfortunately became the victim.

"Uhmm, I think you just accidentally knocked over Sai." Sarada let out her first words over.

Sakura managed control her emotions as the rookie's voice calmed her down. She then quickly realized on what she had done just now and gasp.

"Oh no Sai! Are you alright!?" She began to freaked out as she rushed towards the young root, grabbed by the shoulders and forcibly began shaking him as a means to wake him up which also wasn't any help.

Sarada could only sighed and shook her, she recall how her Mama would freaked out in certain situations similar to this. But at least for now, they have a found something that is a part of their goal.

The only thing unbeknownst to them was that several Ink summons in the form of a mouse had finally formed and had escape the room.

* * *

 **(INTERROGATION 1)**

Being stuck and trapped on a chair after being unintentionally hit on the head wasn't Sai's main expectations, he could still feel the pain as a small bruise appeared on his forehead. He found himself staring at the two girls in front of him, who had the obvious intention of getting answers from him.

Sarada stood as she observed the teen, she had been keeping this serious face as a means to intimidate him, however her stare doesn't even affect the teen since he had no emotion at all.

On the other hand, Sakura had more sympathizing look, her feelings were in between whether to still trust the latter or maybe just completely give up on him since he betrayed the team. As of now, She allowed the raven haired rookie to take over the questioning process.

Silence had took over for awhile, Sarada had a brief stare off with the teen, the guy seemed to be letting his guard down and not even resisting. At the same time, she was already preparing her questions carefully inside her mind, thinking of any ways to make him spill out the beans.

As she was about to speak, the young man had beaten her first, and starting with a smile, he finally spoke.

"Well, I guess there's no point of denying or resisting." Sai said, giving a sigh and a smile, and also causing confusion amongst the two girls.

Sarada raised an eyebrow." What do you mean?" She asked.

Sai was silent for a few moments, he then directed his eyes towards the pink haired teen as if he was telling her that she has something that belonged to him.

Sakura responded with a nod as she then drew out a small object from her pocket which turned out to be the picture book that she found back at the forest and handed it over to the teen." I believed this is yours, right?" She said.

"Thank you." Sai smiled as he simply accepted the picture book back. There was this kind of little appreciation that he felt. He never expected that the pink haired teen would keep it in one piece all this time.

Sarada cleared her throat to get the teen's attention once again." Can you tell me your real purpose here?" She asked, giving the teen a serious look." Are you taking orders from a man named Danzou?" She added.

"He's plotting something which involves Orochimaru in the mixed, isn't he?" Sakura added." And you're chosen to be their liason, if I'm correct."

"So that's why you were so distant from us since the beginning." Sarada added.

The two girls had brought themselves to the point of being overwhelming as they kept bombarding the guy with every question that they have in mind. On the other hand, Sai kept quiet and patiently waited for the two girls stop.

Just tell the whole truth, what are they up to?" Sarada finished the bombardment, with a little demanding tone of voice. She had to admit that this teen version of Inojin's dad was very annoying.

Sai smile as he then took a deep breath." Now that you've discovered me, I guess there's no point of hiding any secret from you two." He replied. He had come to point where he had concluded that he really had no match against these two monsters if he tried to resist.

"Just as you said, The truth about this conspiracy is that we're trying to destroy Konoha in every way possible."

* * *

 **(INTERVIEW)**

 **"When I heard his statement, I was pretty much bewildered to learn the fact that Uncle Sai was a part of a conspiracy to destroy the village. It was really a twist to the story and why I'm not surprised about hearing similar statements from other interrogations before?"**

 **-Sarada**

* * *

 **(MEANWHILE)**

Taking a short break from leading the group, Boruto took the back seat and had let Showtaro led the way for the meantime. He had never forgotten the fact that the duck also had a mission that he needed to attend to. Although, he had to admit that it was pretty tough to balance between two missions at the same time. As for now, he was gonna let the flow take over and let things naturally come into place.

Turning the cap and opening his water bottle, the Uzumaki teen took a sip to replenish his energy that has been slowly depleted from the hours of exploring and searching throughout the hideout.

He also thought that there would be silence for awhile after hours of conversing and planning for their next step, but it seemed that the other blonde would continue to keep it alive. He kept discussing this certain topic regarding Sai, and mainly his recent bretayal on the team and mission.

"If there is a chance that we might bumped into Sai, we really should make sure that traitor learned his lesson Dattebayo!" Naruto blurted out, still can't get over the hump with the black haired teen.

This also gave annoyance to the rookie as he this was the last straw for him to hear those kind of statements. He then stopped his tracks and turned towards his blonde counterpart.

"Alright Naruto, what seems to be the problem?" He calmly asked, giving his young dad a serious face.

Naruto widened his eyes in surprised when he met the rookie's serious and stern look. He wasn't expecting this kind of reaction from him as he thought that he was gonna laugh at it with him." W-What do you mean Bolt?" He said.

The rookie just continued to look at him seriously for an amount of time. He was confused as he tried to figure out on what did he do or said that caused the latter to be in that state. It didn't took long enough when finally realized that him, criticizing the black haired teen was the main cause.

"Wait, don't tell me that you're-" He was about to finish his sentence when he was cut.

Boruto raised a hand as a sign to interrupt his blonde counterpart's sentence." I'm sorry to cut you off Naruto, but let me tell you something you first." He paused, and then continued." You don't have to judge a person right away without knowing his true colors first!"

Naruto was taken aback by the rookie's statement. He didn't expect to hear that kind of response from him, so he then frowned in annoyance." Oh come on now, you've personally seen his true self already dattebayo!" He argued, referring to the previous time before the guy went rogue.

"Even if he shows kindness, he still will be that same irritating guy!" He added to his argument.

Boruto just sighed, he was getting this "Arguing with his old man" feeling again. How he hated this kind of situation, where he's fighting for the right explanation against a person who is very tough to be convince. All he wanted to do is to simply tell the young seventh about judging too early. He too didn't knew anything about the black haired teen but with the stories coming from Inojin and Aunt Ino, he learned the real picture behind the scenes.

Boruto took a deep breath as began to explain hia side of the story." Yes, I'm aware that he can be the most irritating guy in the world, but have you consider checking out his past or background?" He said, before adding more.

"What caused him to become that way?"

There was silence between the two, especially Naruto, who was surprised." Why didn't I think of that earlier?" He asked himself before looking back at the rookie.

Boruto continued his reason." I know you want to beat him up so badly, but at least try to understand him for awhile." He said, before pausing." You said it yourself that there's still hope in people like Sai." He explained." He could still have that change of heart, if you're willing to understand."

"The same as you perceived that Sasuke could still be save!" He added and finished his sentence.

Naruto stood there shocked and dumbfounded. He didn't expect to received that kind of explanation from the rookie. He was beginning to realized on what his blonde counterpart was telling him that the case of Sai was very much similar to the case of his Uchiha teammate. He had a very good point and that he should reconsider on taking a chance on saving black haired teen while there's still time.

Boruto was quiet, he just waited for his teenage dad to reply back. He really had no choice but to explain to him the truth and make him realized that cursing and bashing a guy like that for life wasn't gonna really help solved his problems.

It took several key moments before the latter gave a sigh and nodded." I guess you're right Bolt." Naruto finally replied as he then gave a small calm smile before scratching the back of his head." Thanks for telling Dattebayo." He added, before continuing on as he passed by the rookie and duck.

Showtaro was very much surprised as he became the audience for the two. He really had no idea on what was really going on between the two but he was glad that it somehow ended on a good note." What was that all about?" He asked, as he turned his eyes to the rookie.

Boruto gave a small smile and simply nodded." Just making him realize the good things and stuff like that." He replied, with an unsure tone of voice. He was even amazed on how he was able to talk his teenage dad in a very professional manner.

"Oh I see." Showtaro with a surprised nod. This kid was really something else.

* * *

 **(INTERVIEW)**

 **"Just like I said, the kid was something else! At this age of his, He's pretty much mature already."**

 **-Showtaro**

 **"It's just something that I really hope to put to end, I mean the old man was really getting bitter on teenage uncle Sai and somehow, I managed to help him realized that there's still a chance for him to be saved."**

 **-Boruto**

* * *

 **(MEANWHILE)**

"So you're saying that you're a part of an alliance with Orochimaru while also spying behind is back?"

"Yes."

This might be the one of the most complex conspiracies that Sarada has heard, and one of the most dangerous too. The raven haired rookie stood there staring and dissecting every information that she received from the black haired teen. Same goes to Sakura, who had the same doing as well.

Turns out that a conspiracy to destroy the village had been forming behind the scenes between The Root and Orochimaru. Something that everybody wasn't expecting or having heard off.

"The moment Konoha is destroyed, Orochimaru will definitely betray us." Sai explained." It's a preventive measure and we must be one step ahead at any cost."

Sarada raised an eyebrow." So why not do it by yourselves?" She said." Since you all know that He's gonna double cross you at the end?"

"The Root organization doesn't have the power or force to create chaos." Sai explained." That's why we need the snake to do that part because he has that capability of causing destruction on a village." He said, as he also referred to the Otogakure invasion that the man orchestrated years prior.

"So basically the Root wants to create this destruction just to make the village theirs?" Sarada tried to clarified.

Sai simply nodded." You're partially correct, but it was my superior's goal since from the beginning." He added.

Sakura widened her eyes in surprised." So it's true that Danzo wanted for himself." She said, while the other nodded.

"And you're supposed to make that happen all by yourself?" Sarada spoke this time.

Sai kept quiet for a little while, it was a sign that he was definitely doing this all by himself." I was chosen mission because of my ability to leak information right away." He explained.

"Are you completely mad!?" Sakura exclaimed." You do realized that a lot of innocent people's lives is at stake here!?" She was really furious that the black haired teen would do all of this willingly. She recalled on how the Otogakure invasion devastated the village from three years ago, causing a lot of deaths and destruction. She wasn't gonna let that happen again.

Sai wasn't affected by her words." Who cares, I'm just following orders." He replied causing the pink haired teen to mention his name and shake her head in disappointment.

"And one more thing, "Sai" was just a name assigned for me in this mission." The black haired teen added." I am merely a nobody and just one of Danzo-sama's arms." He finished his sentence as if he really wasn't bothered and didn't care.

"I do not exist and there's no point of insulting or criticizing me."

Sarada was shocked to hear the revelation. After all these years, The name "Sai" was simply a fake name. She really can't imagine on how Inojin will react to this truth. It must've been really weird for a person not knowing or having their true name and at this point in time, there's not much hope for the black haired teen except for a certain picture book on his right hand.

Sakura immediately took noticed of the book and planned to discussed it with the teen." But why do you still keep that picture book as a treasure even though you're telling us that you have no real purpose in your life?" She asked.

The moment she had said this, the black haired teen's eyes widened in surprised. He wasn't expecting this to enter the conversation. He instinctively raised right hand so that he can look at the book and it's distinctive cover and thus the memories began to flooding in.

"Why do you treasure it so much?" Sakura asked again." Is it because that you dearly missed your brother?" She added, causing the rookie to turned her attention towards her.

"Or is it because that book is the only thing and reason that proves that you exist in this world?" Sakura added.

Sai was silent, the things that he was hearing right now had been greatly affecting him deeply. He wasn't just showing it to the two girls.

"You haven't lost your emotions as much as you claim it to be." Sakura continued, she was finally getting the full picture about the guy." The fact that you accepted the book back and said " Thank You" proves it and you felt relief when I handed it to you." She stopped to catch her breath.

Sai was surprised and at the same time, confused, emotions were forming around him for the first time." In what way does carrying a picture book around prove that I exist?" He asked, his interest rising on the topic.

"The reason you don't want to let go of the picture book is because you can't give up the image you have of yourself as a little brother." Sakura simply explained." And your ties with your brother are very important to you." She added." You don't wanna severe that strong ties."

Sai was struck deeply inside. Emotions were starting to creeped up as a certain word appeared in his mind.

 _"Bonds"_

The young Root felt hands shaking. He tried to ask himself of this strange feelings that he has been having right now. He could feel joy, anger, and sadness at the same time and remembering his big brother at the same time.

" _Shin_."

This was indeed the first time that he felt these emotions. Emotions that had been sealed away since his grueling training at Kiragakure and it came like a surging giant wave inside him. The memories of himself and everything from the beginning to the current end. The last image that he saw was that of the smiling face of his "big brother" before he went on.

Sai then looked down as he took a deep breath." This picture book was supposed to be a present for him." He spoke." But before I can complete it, He..." The black haired teen trailed off as he attempted to finished his sentence but couldn't bring himself to do it.

"H-He passed on before I could show it to him." Sai finished his sentence but at the cost of letting out a little bit of his emotions in the form of a small tear that secretly came out and before he knew, he started to sob a little.

The two girls were surprised and also saddened to see the teen like this. Who knew that he would letting out emotions that he never had before. It was a bitter sweet to see Sai finally getting in touch with his human emotional side but at the same time they had to continue interrogating the man.

* * *

 **(INTERVIEW)**

 **"This teenage version Uncle Sai was indeed a tough heart to break. Seeing him emotionless since the beginning of the mission and then seeing him crying for a litte bit was a big change for me. I think he's beginning to see that there's still hope to change, but still we needed him to cooperate for us to find Papa."**

 **-Sarada**

* * *

 **(CHANGE OF HEART)**

Although, Sai spoke and this time tone was different." If you're gonna search for Sasuke Uchiha, you're gonna have a hard time locating his exact place." He said.

The atmosphere immediately changed, there was seriousness that took over.

The black haired teen had decided to help the two girls and he was now giving all the information he can to help them find the Uchiha.

"Orochimaru is often with him." Sai continued" So if you want to really find Sasuke, you'll have to go through that snake first." He explained." If you pursue him, you might end up as a subject for his insane experiments."

"And besides, why do you still continue to pursue him even though, he possibly doesn't care about you and Naruto anymore?" He added.

There was quietness that took over yet again. It was indeed a tough question to answer and the guy had a point. Why waste time to pursue a person who had no hopes of being saved?

Sakura just sighed but gave a smile." You know that's the reason why we still have hope." She said, causing confusion for the black haired teen.

"I don't speak for Naruto but, I guess the reason why he doesn't give is because, He always say that Sasuke would often acknowledged him more than anyone else did." She explained, which left the other widening his eyes in surprised.

Sakura continued." It's kind of a bond that happens very rarely, you treat each other as brothers and sisters." She said. She would then go on to explain that the bond that was formed during the early days of Team 7 had been going strong for all these years.

"Even If you asked me or Naruto, we really don't care about all these set backs ahead of us." Sakura said.

"No matter what happens, we're gonna bring Sasuke back home." The pink haired teen added, finally finding her confidence.

Sarada watched the whole the scene unfold, she was amazed and proud at the same time. No one could really bring that confidence down.

Sai felt humbled this time." Bonds" He muttered under his breath as his interest on this kind of ties, began to grew inside. He wanted to find out more about it and learned from it.

It seemed that everything was heading to a good end, the two girls had successfully helped Sai in his emotional state and he was on board on rejoining and assisting them again for real. The only hindrance as of now was an unexpected newcomer from behind.

 **"Well, what do we have here**." A recognizable male voice spoke from behind.

The two girls then immediately turned around to face a familiar face. An annoying face to be exact." You've got to be kidding me." Sarada sighed and commented. She didn't expect that she had to go through this yet again.

The newcomer was revealed to be Kabuto himself, who had apparently just discovered them.

"Looks like you've become a prisoner Sai." Kabuto said, giving an arrogant face while the black haired teen remained silent.

"Oh not you again!" Sakura sarcastically exclaimed as she was having the same thoughts as the raven haired rookie. She too was sick of facing this guy.

Kabuto gave an arrogant laugh and ignored the pink haired girl's comments as he focused on the black haired teen." It's doesn't looked like you've betrayed us, so I'll trust for now." He said before forming an evil grin in his face.

He was about to summon his Chakra blade in an attempt to rescue the black haired teen before something unexpected had happened. As soon as he change into battle stance, he suddenly felt immense pain from under. He suddenly stopped his attempts and instead held his junior and his knees dropping on the floor.

"Not again." He muttered aloud as the last image he saw was that of a certain raven haired teen, who was the one responsible for kicking him in the balls once again.

Sarada wasn't bothered and didn't even care, she had enough of this and took upon herself to end the conflict in a matter of seconds. She then turned towards the two, who were giving a very surprised look. They were dumbfounded on what happened just now, and they were about to ready themselves for battle.

Sarada just gave them a slight grin. Now they finally have the second key to locate their target.

* * *

 **(INTERROGATION 2)**

Kabuto found himself forcibly sitting and had been strapped down on the chair via Sai's ink substance. He had never expected this to happened and also never anticipated that the black haired teen would double cross him. He was now subjected to a sudden interrogation.

"Alright, where is Sasuke?"

The first question was heard coming from the pink haired teen herself, while the rest watched from behind.

Kabuto was quiet as he observed his surroundings. He was trying to find a way out of this mess or a possible move to escape his current situation. So far luck wasn't on his side to begin since he was facing three people who are capable of really teaching him lesson, especially that raven haired girl with the glasses.

He secretly gave his frustration because he had obviously no choice but sit down in defeat and he had to cooperate in order to make his escape work out. By the time he took a deep a breath, he began to speak.

"By now, He's probably finished with his training and has gone back to his room in the inner area." He replied.

"Are you sure about that?" Sarada asked.

Kabuto gave a slight arrogant chuckle." Of course, I've personally seen him train awhile ago." He said.

"I don't think he's lying." Sai spoke this time and followed up a question thereafter." Which part of this inner area?" He asked.

"Be specific!" He demanded.

Kabuto gave a smirked before rolling his eyes." I don't know which room." He said before continuing." This hideout has a lot of inner areas and chambers that would really make it tough for you to locate him." He explained.

"Then we'll keep searching for him down there." Sarada said, having her determination intact.

"Well, that could work randomly." Kabuto replied." But, I warned you three, if you commit at least one small mistake, you might disturb a snake that will jump at you." He added with a devious smile.

There was silence that took over inside the room. Kabuto thought that by discouraging or taking away their motivation, they might give up on their goal. Although, that would only come true in his dreams as he failed at that part.

Sakura then smirked back "If you think that we're gonna get killed, then you're very wrong four eyes!" She replied back with a strong tone of voice as he beckoned the rest to move forward and leave the room.

Kabuto widened his eyes in surprised as he began to see his failed attempt and in a few moments time, the three immediately left, leaving him alone and still strapped in the chair. He soon began to shake his head and give a defeated smirked.

"You won't, unless you try."

* * *

 **(SIDE MISSION)**

"It must be here somewhere."

Showtaro wiped the sweat from his forehead as he flew towards through the corridors, behind him were the two blondes catching up to him. There was this feeling that he would be reaching the area that he was looking for all this time. The only regret that he had was that he didn't have the time to explain his mission in detail to the two because of the little time that they had.

Though he was able to summarized his mission and it was basically about locating a person of interest in his investigation. A person that he believed to be a possible witness and a whistle blower that might relay him top secret information about the unknown doings of the council's culprits.

When Boruto asked the question on why would this person of interest would end up in this hideout in the first place, the answer was simple:

This person of interest might be on the run from the enemy or forcibly exiled for revealing too much classified information.

Showtaro also revealed that this hideout was originally a prison from a very long ago and considering its dungeons-like rooms, broken chains scattered and its overall appearance, it made sense that any person or being with atrocities would be placed in here. It was only unrecognizable because it had been

After a good amount of time traversing through the inner areas, the inner areas itself were larger than the previous ones and the group found themselves stopping their tracks as they found themselves looking at dead end in the form of a huge wall.

"Looks like a dead end." Boruto said, recommending the rest to continue their search in other areas.

"Are we even in the right place?" Naruto added as confusion was hitting him slowly.

Showtaro simply shook his head and gave a small smile." We're in the right place." He said, as he moved towards the wall to get a closer look.

He soon began to study and examine the walls, discovering mysterious yet somehow familiar round symbols attached and written on the wall itself. The symbols were small enough to be touch by a hand. Showtaro drew his small journal book, flipping to a certain page, which also contained symbols, and began to compare it to the symbols on the wall.

"Just as I thought, these symbols are from the Otsutsuki clan." Showtaro said causing mixed reactions from the two blondes.

Boruto widened his eyes in shock after hearing the "Otsutsuki" word itself, he had never expected that this would be involved in the duck's investigation." No way." He muttered out.

Naruto was bewildered, he kept glancing at the two back and forth, wondering what the heck was going on. Who were the Otsutsuki? Were they even human? What's with all these weird symbols on the wall? There were just so many questions in his mind right now.

Meanwhile, Boruto moved closer as he too was now examining these symbols. "So these Otsutsuki symbols are what for? He asked.

"There basically codes or puzzles to unlock a certain door or passage." He said and would go on to explain that by unlocking or decoding these puzzles, the walls would lose its defensive barrier thus leading them into their goal by destroying the walls first.

Boruto nodded, accepting and understanding his explanation." So how are you gonna decode the puzzle?" He asked.

Showtaro simply smiled as he finally found a way." Well, it's simple." He said, pointing to the symbols and his small book." A friend from the Otsutsuki world, gave me advice on solving these puzzles." He added." As you can see on the wall, all symbols must be in their proper positions and one of the symbols here is suspiciously upside down." He explained.

"So what's the next step?" Boruto asked.

Showtaro nodded." Simple, you just turned this symbol back into its right position." He said as he adjusted a certain round symbol with a crescent moon design inside, back to its original position by tilting the symbol a little bit. Once he brought the symbol back, all three symbols and the wall began to glow, in a few moments time, the glow began to die down. The duck then proceeded to press the middle symbol, which acted as a button and moments later a portion of the wall began to collapse leaving an entrance.

The group stood and found themselves staring at a new passage, Both Boruto and Naruto were amazed and surprised while Showtaro kept calm as usual for the reason that he already did this many times before in the past.

"Now that's something you don't see everyday." Naruto commented, as he proceeded to enter the new passage along with the two. He also hoped that his long lost raven haired teammate would be in here too.

As they entered the passage, the atmosphere had change as the feeling of cautioness instantly took over the three. Naruto immediately drew out his Kunai, in case of a possible ambush, although he doubt that Orochimaru or Kabuto even knew this area in their own hideout to begin with. The whole area itself was almost covered in darkness, but with the help of a single torch that Boruto had taken and brought with them, they can at least see what was inside.

The area looks almost like a chamber or somesort.

Boruto, who was in the middle, kept calm as he secretly activated his Jougan in order to get an idea or appearance of the whole area. By the time, he had activated it, his eyes was suddenly met with hundreds of symbols that were on its walls and floors glowing brightly." What in the world!?" He exclaimed to himself.

By the time, he looked straight to his direction, there was this certain blue aura concentrated from a few distances away from where they are now.

At the same time, Showtaro had stopped his tracks on certain spot where a huge cauldron was located. "Hey Kid!" He called out the blonde rookie to come forward with the torch.

Boruto snapped back to reality as he headed towards the duck." So what do we now, Showtaro?" He asked.

"Place the torch in the cauldron and then use that Fire Jutsu Element of yours to boost up the flames, so we can fully light this place up." He simply said and explained.

Boruto nodded as he did on what was told, he placed the torch on the huge cauldron and there suddenly fire on it, he then immediately cast a Fire jutsu to boost up the fire. Once its all done, there was suddenly light that was emitted and the darkness slowly faded away, and the area's appearance was finally revealed to be that of a big chamber.

Boruto and Naruto, were amazed to see their new surroundings, this was indeed a remarkable site to see. They both deduced that this chamber was ancient, considering its appearance and current state of being hidden and untouched for a very long time.

"Wow"

"This so cool Dattebayo!"

As for Showtaro, he didn't pay attention to the overall appearance of the chamber, in fact he was more focused on certain person that was a few distances away from them. He immediately narrowed his eyes and proceeded to towards the person laying down and resting on a concrete wall, He donned a tattered white Kimono and also bound on a chain. He was not alone as beside him were skeletal remains of people that were also imprisoned and chained inside this big chamber.

"Gotcha!" He widened his as he immediately headed towards the person.

Meanwhile, Both Boruto and Naruto also noticed Showtaro's hurry as they also proceeded to catch up with their duck companion.

* * *

 **(INTERVIEW)**

 **"I had a feeling that the chamber itself was indeed a prison. By the time I saw the person bound to chains, that was the evidence for me. Considering his tattered white kimono with crescent moon symbol designs on it:**

 **It hit my mind to conclude that the person of interest was an Otsutsuki."**

 **-Showtaro**

* * *

 **(MEANWHILE)**

As soon as they got out from the room, leaving the silver haired man still strapped on his chair, the group. which now composed of Sarada, Sakura, and the returning Sai, who recently had a goal of now redeeming himself from the mistakes that he commited in this mission.

This time they have intensified their search more as they checked from room to room, regardless if these rooms were empty or not. Despite some of them being locked, they forcibly broke the doors in any hopes or possibilities that Sasuke would be inside. But still, not a single trace of him were located inside those rooms.

"Not in here either." Sarada gave out the bad news as she closed the door of the last room in this area that they're in now.

The group stopped for a brief rest before they can continue on with their search at the inner next area of the hideout. It was estimated that they've already checked more than a hundred rooms now, and there is still a lot more to go in the next area.

"You've got to be kidding me!" Sakura commented as she voiced out her frustration on the subject.

Sai could only sympathized with the pink haired teen, as he too was awaiting for any possiblities." Looks like this hideout ia bigger than we thought." He said." We need to think of more ways to find him." He suggested.

"To hell, with that! We're gonna find him no matter what!" Sakura exclaimed, as she gave the black haired teen a serious look.

"Whatever it takes."

Sarada watched as she could sense that her young Mama really loved her Papa, even though he was deemed a hostile enemy at this point by many. " Sakura, we're gonna find him, don't worry." She assured her teenage mom. She too was also having the same feelings as her right now. She also offered her a water bottle for her to use in order to replenish her energy.

Sakura didn't respond back but gave the raven haired rookie, an exhausted smile and accepted the offer.

The next area that they were supposed to enter was composed of three separate corridors, one of them will possibly contain the Uchiha that they were looking for. The easiest that they find him was to split up and head towards each corridor which they decided to do.

"We're gonna have to split up." Sai suggested, it was the only choice that they have to speed up the search.

"Got it!" Both girls said in unison, both of them determined.

With that said, the three finally split up and headed to their respective corridors.

* * *

 **(THE ENCOUNTER)**

The excitement and fear had finally risen to higher levels. Sarada was doing her best to calm herself down as she was rushing as fast as she can through the corridors. She knew that the moment was getting closer and possible scenarios began to play inside her mind.

Before all of this, she had a few moments of brainstorming as she thought of ways to make her search faster and efficient. Only one possible way came into her mind, and that was to activate and use her Sharingan to find any trace of chakra or presence in every door she passed.

At the start of her search, there weren't any trace of any person's energy but as she continued on, traversing and moving from area to area, there was a sudden flicker of hope as she detected a presence from a several blocks away, the presence that she felt was strong, overwhelming yet somehow familiar.

Thoughts began to come up her mind, and she asked herself questions about this lone presence, Why does it bother her more than anything else right now? Could it be really him?

Sarada shook her head as she removed all the thoughts clouding her mind, she needed to focus right now and locate its source. She began to run faster than before paying no heed to any threats that could be possibly waiting for her ahead.

It didn't took long enough as she suddenly stop her tracks on a certain spot, the raven haired girl then turned to her right and found herself staring at two huge metallic doors. The difference was that the doors were fully opened and that she could see what was inside, which turned out to be a big training chamber.

The place was dim-litted, with only a handful of fire torches displayed on particular spots inside the chamber, several large pillars supporting the chambers shelter and a huge rectangular field that acted as the sparring box.

Sarada described the place gloomy and eerily silent, it felt like many people had died inside this chamber or maybe that was just her thinking and theory. The surprising thing that baffled her was the presence itself, which suddenly vanished by the time she arrived at the place.

* * *

When the raven haired teen took the first steps, she felt the immediate hostile atmosphere as if she was being watched and falling into an ambush. But the mystery was that there wasn't any trace of multiple enemies awaiting her that would have already attack her right away.

What was really going on right now!?

Sarada proceeded to continue exploring the chamber as she headed to a certain spot where a pillar was situated. The place was very much silent as she could also hear the sound of her footsteps echoing. She tried her best to keep quiet and calm even though her legs were shaking in anxiousness.

By the time she had reached the pillar, she caught noticed of a symbol carved on the pillar itself. The symbol was the Uchiha clan crest and that made the girl surprised and bewildered. She then reached out her nervous hands to the freshly carved in order to examined it and by the time she had touch it, something unexpected suddenly interrupted her.

 **"So you've finally found me**." A male menacing voice said from behind and had interrupted the silence.

Sarada froze as she widened her eyes in shock, her heart stopped beating at the moment when she heard that voice. It was so young yet very familiar to her ears.

 **"Turn around.** " The male voice said again but this time in a demanding tone.

The raven haired teen had no choice as she slowly turned around, before that, she deactivated her Sharingan to avoid more suspicion. She felt the same presence, that she detected from before, once again and by the time she completely turned around, her heart stopped once more.

She found herself staring at a human figure that slowly began to reveal its true identity as it neared her. Sooner, a raven haired young man stepped out from the shadows. He donned a white long-sleeved shirt kept open at the torso, dark blue pants secured with a purple belt and black arm guards that cover his forearms.

He had a sharp distinctive face and familiar black eyes.

"Are you one of them?" The young man asked with a serious tone as he pointed his blade towards the girl.

Sarada was still in shock and her body was frozen as she kept her eyes on a person that she thought was gone from her life. A person that she considered as family and that helped her through times of trouble.

Although her courage and confidence managed to prevail as she finally let out a word in the form of a mutter.

"Papa?"

 **(CHAPTER END)**

* * *

 **(INTERVIEW)**

 **"When I saw those eyes, It instantly came up right away in my mind that the person in front of me was no ghost or illusion, it was really him."**

 **-Sarada**

* * *

 **AN: Thank you for reading the chapter:)**


	63. Special Chapter: Ramen

I **don't own Naruto. Mr Kishimoto Does.**

 **Author's note: Hey there Readers!, Looks like we've finally entered Arc 3! I Hope you guys enjoy! I would also like to thank you guys for the Reviews. Favorites, and follows :)**

 **Still, I haven't found a Beta Editor yet, so I'm really alone on this one.**

 **Take note: Welcome back to another chapter once again, This might be the longest special chapter so far. This chapter also takes place at the same time and event of the previous chapter. While Sarada has finally met Sasuke in the hideouts, Itachi is still Konoha for his three day break and still searching for his future niece's home.**

 **Also, feel free to share some of your ideas for future chapters.**

 **Expect some grammar and spelling mistakes along the way.**

 **Thank you for Understanding :)**

* * *

 **Arc 3: Phase 2**

 **Special Chapter: Ramen**

Itachi sighed in disapppointment, hearing the revelation that Sarada wasn't in the bakery shop felt as if a part of his life was taken from him. Although, it wasn't the female clerk's fault that the raven haired teen wasn't around, and he can't blame her either. It someone or something was to blame, it was definitely time itself, which kept him from meeting his future niece.

Donning his civilian attire, He had just got back from visiting the Uchiha compound, and now found himself currently walking along the streets of the village, heading towards a certain place suggested by the raven haired teen herself weeks ago.

It was fine weather today for the village, it was often the usual for the rest of its citizens as they go on with their daily lives. How Itachi felt a little bit of envy as he passed by dozens families happily bonding with each other. The young man tried picture himself in a different scenario, a scenario where he was not a fugitive, living a peaceful life and his family here with him right now.

Although, those were just dreams that he could only wished for everyday. Every time, reality would often smacked him in the head to bring him out from his day dreaming. It was cruel and disrespectful but yet necesarry at the same time. He continued walking until he began see a distinctive shape of a shop from distance.

As he neared the shop, his nose began to smell the scent of a delicious and familiar dish, and by the time he had arrived in his destination, he was greeted by a lively scene of the famous Ichiraku's Ramen shop. There were customers everywhere as he expected and he was starting to believed that these rumours about their signature dish being extremely delicious, was true.

Then there was a loud familiar voice and the visible color blue that mixed with the bright sun.

" **Hey Itachi! Over here!"** The husky voice called out to the man's name.

Itachi directed his eyes to a certain fellow Akatsuki member and friend, Kisame, who was sitting on one of the seats near the counter. His semi-stylish civilian clothes and hairstyle made him looked more like an old celebrity punk. But nobody did really care for his appearance and since he was playing along with kids, who seemed to be curious and fascinated with him, before he arrived.

The Uchiha gave a small smile and shook his head. He headed towards his friend, who seemed to be enjoying life, and armed with a new comment, the man spoke.

"You seemed to be enjoying life right now." Itachi commented as he sat down on the empty seat that his friend reserved for him.

Kisame gave a shrug as he drank his glass of pineapple juice that he ordered awhile ago." Of course! This kind of life you're making me live right now is better than being an Akatsuki than I thought!" He replied with a chuckle before turning to the counter.

"Hey miss beautiful! Can we follow up our order!?" The blue skinned man called up to the brown haired lady, who was handling the other customers' orders, with excitement and energy.

"Coming right up!" The brown haired lady replied back as she went back to the kitchen area to follow up the orders.

Itachi gave a faint smile, his friend was really enjoying his life right now, even though this was all temporary. His eyes then continued to observed the surroundings, there were so many people around him right now, it sometimes felt new to him because he was used to seeing and being around the quiet forest and hideouts of the organization.

His mind started to focused on his thoughts, specifically a certain raven haired teen. He had to admit that she was a very mysterious girl despite having met her in person and even looked into her memories, discovering the revelation that she was his niece from the future. There was this feeling of wanting to get to know her more as a person and he never thought that he would have the chance to spend time with a family member that he hadn't known before in his life.

"Hey man food is ready!"

He snapped out from his thoughts as he was immediately brought back to reality. He quickly turned his head to face his blue skinned friend, who was giving him an excited look as they're orders had been finally served.

"Here you go! two bowls of Ramen!" The lady said as she placed their orders on their respective counters.

"Thanks lady! These are really delicious!" Kisame commented with as he immediately took his chances on the hot dish. But it was never a problem for him since his mouth was designed to withstand hot dishes like this.

Itachi gave him a strict and stern look to which the blue skinned man noticed. The look that he gave was something and it mean't that respect was never to be forgotten when conversing or addressing another person.

Kisame quickly realized on what he had just said and gave an apologetic grin while scratching his head.

Itachi sighed as he immediately apologized to the lady." I'm sorry about my friend, Miss Ayame." He said while noticing the name tag on her." He's just too energetic right now... or maybe too often." He added, while giving another glance at the blue skinned man.

Ayame gave a smile." Oh, It's alright." She said." We have customers similar to him." She added." In fact, He's not even that energetic compared to our recent regular patron customers." referring to a couple of certain person, who were recent regular customers.

Itachi was a bit confused at first." _Regular Patrons_?" He asked and muttered under his breath, unaware that two certain newcomers had just arrived at the said area.

Before He could speak out his mind, He was suddenly interrupted by a loud and brash voice.

 _"Oh come on Kura-chan! It's not like the Ramen is gonna eat you alive."_ A voice coming from a kid exclaimed.

" **For the last time I'm not going to eat ramen, and you're forcing me against my will again kid!** " Another voice, this time more deep and raspy argued.

 _"What do you mean forcing against your will? This is the first time I'm taking you to the shop."_ The other voice said, which had bits of confusion on the tone itself.

With the arguement still continuing, Itachi couldn't help himself but turned around to face the two loud culprits from behind and he didn't expected that source of the voice was coming from a brown haired kid, and crimson cute fox, who were in a power struggle.

 _"Have I seen them before?_ " Itachi wondered to himself as he observed them. They looked really familiar but somehow, he couldn't figure out or recognize them.

On the other hand, Kisame paid no heed to the loud brats. He was focused more on the eating rather than the watching right now and that leaves Itachi as the only audience as of now.

* * *

 **(RAMEN)**

It was something that Kurama had always disliked since being sealed inside the kit and even until the present day when he eventually became the seventh. How he was already used to smelling ramen inside the mind scape, and even the sewer waters were already replaced by Ramen soup. He wondered if he was going to lived the rest of his life with all the Ramen around.

Another reason was that the ramen itself reminded him of the kit. Whenever he hears or sees ramen, his mind will automatically take him to memory lane and relive the moments that he had with the kit himself. He didn't want any of this from now on because there was still guilt inside him for not saving the kit's life back in the future.

The other reason was that, he was afraid to see the Kit's younger self, since it would only fuel the emotions and trauma inside of him. For an immortal nine taile fox, he still has traumas in his life, first Hagomoro, his son then the Kit. It was too much for him, but he had no choice right now.

Konohamaru was taken by surprised when the small crimson fox stopped struggling. He then noticed him giving an annoyed face before giving in.

" **Fine we'll eat ramen! but please make it a quick one!** " He said and pleaded as there was a bit of a struggle saying his sentence before shutting his mouth up.

Konohamaru remained speechless for a several moments before giving a shrug as he proceeded to the shop. Although, he wondered about his fox companion's problems lately. Whenever he mentions ramen to him, he would always stay quiet or give this guilty face. Did something happen to him in the past? What was his relationship ramen? Did he got in trouble for stealing one?

As he continued towards the answer, The brown haired kid then observed his surroundings looking for vacant seats to sit in and in just a matter of seconds, he was able to locate one inside the shop. There was a lone vacant seat on the right corner while the other seats were occupied by two men that he probably haven't met before. A little later on, he saw the colour brown as he finally saw Ayame, who was handling the orders.

With a silent Kurama being carried by the kid, Konohamaru immediately hurried his way and called out to the young woman." Ayame-chan!" He called out to which the other quickly noticed.

Ayame, who was busy cleaning the counters, immediately noticed a familiar brown haired boy coming up to the shop. It was none other than the grandson of the third, Konohamaru Sarutobi, who came with his usual smile and energy.

"Konohamaru! How's it going?" The young lady greeted the boy. She hadn't seen her in awhile.

Konohamaru gave a grin." Well nothing much, School is pretty boring as usual but hey at least I got time for Ramen!" He explained as he sat down on his seat.

Ayame gave a little chuckle." I see, so I guess your order would be one bowl of Ramen, I presumed." She said, expecting to get the correct guess.

Konohamaru simply nodded." As usual!." He replied with another grin before directing his eyes back towards Kurama, giving him a smile.

Kurama remained silent as usual as he wasn't giving any of that smiley face. He was brooding and gave several annoyed glances at the boy. He took refuge underneath the boy's seat and will probably remain there until lunch session has ended. He also cringed when he heard the Kit's name being mentioned.

Konohamaru was still confused and curious about his foxy companion. He gave a puzzled face, trying to understand him more about his problem but was suddenly interrupted by Ayame herself.

"Here's your order!" The beautiful brown haired lady exclaimed as she came out from kitchen holding a tray, which carried the bowl of ramen.

A smile formed around Konohamaru, He immediately grabbed his chopsticks as he eagerly waited for his lunch to be placed on the table." Man! I can't wait!" He excitingly muttered to himself.

"Careful It's hot." Ayame warned the boy before placing the bowl on the counter.

Right after the bowl was placed in front of the boy, He immediately gave his thanks and smelled the tempting scent of the ramen." This is so good!" He commented as he finally get to enjoy the food that he has been longing to eat.

Ayame was glad to see the boy enjoying his meal. Although, she wondered on why she hasn't seen the third's grandson in awhile. He was one of the shop's regular customers and this was the first time that the boy showed up. Was that because he was busy with other things? She really needed to ask this.

"It's been quite awhile since you've come here to eat Konohamaru." Ayame said, as she began to dry up the newly washed bowls via a white towel." Is everything alright for you?" She added.

Konohamaru gave a small smile, but this time a little bit of tiredness took over him." Everything's fine." He replied as he began to scratched his head." Although, school's a priority right now, got a lot of homework to do." He added, his eyes having a little bit of dark circles.

Ayame nodded in understanding." Oh I see." She muttered, giving a sad smile and as he was about to continue her sentence, she was suddenly cut by the boy.

"Hey! but I can still managed it." The brown haired boy replied with a grin." And I've got Kuu-chan on my back too!" He added.

Ayame raised an eyebrow in confusion." Kuu-chan?" She asked, wondering on who was this person.

"Well, He's actually my pet companion." Konohamaru replied as he then looked down to see a still brooding and quiet cute crimson fox. For a few moments, he began to think of any ways to help ease out the fox's broodness and there was only solution that came into his mind.

Kurama was minding his own business of trying to get a good nap when the boy suddenly grabbed him and raised him up into the blank air." What the hell Kit!?" He yelled in his mind as he found himself on the eyes of beautiful young lady.

"Here's Kuu-chan!" The boy said with a grin on his face. He hoped his plan will work for the better.

There was silence that took over for a brief moment. Kurama was really embarrassed as he didn't like being the center of attention. He could feel everyone staring at him and being carried by the boy really made him more shy. The only thing that he could say was:

 **"Yip.** "

Ayame, being to lady that really loves cute things immediately reacted and grabbed the crimson fox." Oh he's so cute!" She said, as she pulled him into a warm embraced and began to cuddle him at the same time.

Konohamaru felt glad that he was able to help the poor cute nine tailed fox. As he was eating his lunch, he was also watching two getting along with each other even though the face that Kurama was giving him right now.

As for Kurama, He himself can't blame anyone right now, since he was now in this situation. Although, he had to admit that it felt really nice being properly cuddled once more, this young lady that he had seen a lot of times already because of Naruto, was actually nice in person.

* * *

 **(INTERVIEW)**

 **"It was actually nice to lend Kuu-chan a helping hand. After all what he has been through, I guess there are more good things to come for him. Although, I still don't understand the reason on why he was afraid to go the Ramen shop in the first place."**

 **-Konohamaru**

 **"I can't really tell the kit the whole truth about it and bringing me into the shop where Naruto would always hangout is too much for me. Although, Ayame-san was really a nice person."**

 **-Kurama**

* * *

 **(MEANWHILE)**

Itachi kept quiet as he observed the scene happening in front of him, with interest. He was able to easily recognized the boy as the grandson of the third, to whom he respected since he was a little boy. The only thing that he disliked about the older man was that of the decisions that he made about the Uchiha clan, but it was for the greater good. As for his grandson, he had heard of rumours that he was orphan but by the looks of it right now, he seemed to be a happy boy.

Switching his attention then towards another subject, the older Uchiha fixed his eyes on a certain small crimson fox. The thing that made him curious about the said fox was that there was something familiar about it. Besides the nine tails that creepily reminded him of the Kyuubi no Youku, there was something else, something that he can't figured out but he had to admit that he was cute.

"Hey Itachi!" A familiar voice interrupted his thoughts as he blinked a couple of times before facing his blue skinned friend.

"So any news about that girl that you always talked about?" Kisame asked.

Itachi didn't expected a kind of question coming from the blue-skinned man. Although, he understood the fact that the man hasn't forgotten their encounter with the trio, especially her." Well, I went to the shop that she was working in and a co worker told me that she wasn't on duty." He replied.

Kisame nodded in understanding." I see." He said." She's quite the tough girl and has guts." He commented." It's unfortunate that you won't be able to meet her today." He added as it seemed that the raven haired teen had managed to earned his respect for her as a fellow fighter.

Itachi gave a sigh." I know the chances, Kisame-san." He said." I'm quite surprised that you're commending her all of a sudden." He said.

Kisame gave a slight chuckle." Of course, you rarely see a person with that kind of guts to take anyone, even if that person is powerful." He explained." Plus, she kinda reminds me of you, which is really weird!"

Itachi secretly gave a smile as he continued eating his ramen. He had no comment on that because he haven't got to know her yet. Although, it was already obvious that the girl behaved like an Uchiha." Really weird isn't it?" He let out a sentence.

"You know, I gotta feeling that you two might get along in the future." Kisame said, as if he was imagining a strong bond between his friend and the girl." Although, at the same time, you'll be put into a position of protecting her in time of danger or maybe even risking your life." He added, voicing a bit of his warning.

When his blue skinned friend gave that statement, Itachi suddenly felt his hair raising up as a sign of his goosebumps. There was some kind of eeriness and seriousness along his sentences, as if the first of the three warnings had been given to him in the form of his friend.

Although, that was not his main focus right now, his main objective was to locate the raven haired girl's home or at least maybe a person that might know the exact location of her home here in the village.

* * *

 **(MEANWHILE)**

Kurama rested on an empty seat, He was exhausted from all the cuddling by the young lady even though he had really enjoyed it in the first place because it relieved him of any stress that he was feeling right now. The only thing that cost him was his energy as he began to feel drowsy as ever.

His eyes began to observed his surroundings, mainly Konohamaru and Ayame, who were still chatting. As moments passed by, drowsiness began to creeped up hia eyes.

He was beginning to think that this was moment that he had been waiting for. The moment that he was finally gonna have a good nap and expecting the boy to carry him all throughout the day.

A sweet achievement!

Although, that short triumph would be put to an end in just a matter of seconds. There was a glimpse of dark blue hair that passed by his eyes, at first he ignored it, thinking that it was just some random customer passing by. Although, there was this familiar scent that his nose suddenly detected, but he too dismissed it as scents that sometimes would bring unexpected nostalgia.

The last sign that would finally end his short-lived nap was that of a female voice that spoke.

* * *

 **(SUNFLOWER)**

"Hello Ayame-neesan!"

A certain teenage girl arrived and stood in front of the main counter. She had dark blue hair that she wears with straight bangs and a hime-cut. her hair flares out on the sides and back, and she has an ahoge on the top of her head, which resembles the stem of a leaf. She donned a light yellow long-sleeved hooded-sweater with a blue shirt underneath that has a petal-like pattern, and a pinkish red shorts with black cycling shorts underneath.

She also had two patches on her cheeks in the shaped of a gorgeous sunflower.

Himawari gave a smile to would light up everybody's day as the latter greeted the older lady.

"Hima! What a surprised!." Ayame said, as she too greeted the teenage girl in front of her with a warm smile. She hadn't seen the young lady for quite some time now since her big brother has been assigned on a mission.

"It's been quite awhile." Himawari said as she placed her hands together as a sign of apology" I'm sorry, I haven't got time to visit Ayame-neesan" She apolgized. She would then go on to explain that she had been busy with the stuff back at the aparment with all the spring cleaning and maintaining the place the unit altogether.

Ayane nodded in understanding." It's alright Hima." She said." You don't have to say sorry, it's no ones fault." She added, letting out a little chuckle.

Himawari gave a small chuckle as she then presented a plastic tupperware which contained small homemade baked chocolate chip cookies." Here's a gift for you and uncle Teuchi, I've been recently immersing myself on cook books and I ended up baking cookies!" The dark blue haired girl explained with a slight chuckle in the end.

"Thank you very much Hima!" Ayame said, before noticing that she was holding a plastic bag containing several tupperwares which contained the same product.

"Oh there are more?" Ayame raised both her eyebrows and asked.

The Uzumaki teen simply nodded." Well, I've been visiting some friends around the villages lately, so might as well give them cookies!" She explained with a smile.

"Oh I see." Ayame said, before a thought came into her mind." How's your big brother by the way? " She asked." The kitchen really needs right now." She gave a slight chuckle on the subject.

Himawari sighed." I know, but he's on his mission with Sarada-nee still." She replied with a sign of sadness on her tone of voice." It really does make the rest of your days bored actually." She added.

"Oh I see." Ayame commented. Both girls were really disappointed, without the blonde's presence, both sides were in slight jeopardy. The ramen shop has been missing its top crew member while the Uzumaki teen felt a little bit lonely everytime she stays on the apartment, so that is why she had been going over to the people that she knew.

" I guess, I better get going, or else these cookies won't find their true home." Himawari said as she broke the silence. She bidded her farewell as she left the area, leaving a trail of confusion and shock.

"Thank you again Hima!" Ayame replied as she waved her hand.

"Ayame-nee?" A familiar voice then suddenly interrupted her as she immediately turned towards Konohamaru.

Konahamaru was surprised." Isn't that girl, the big blonde's sister?" He asked as he observed the teenage girl. He also realized that it was actually her, the sister of the guy that eerily looked like his big boss Naruto.

Ayame nodded." Yup, she's a very nice person actually!" She said, as she would go on to explained that teenage girl really did helped a lot of people.

Konahamaru could only give a shrugged as he wasn't sure about that. Maybe if he could meet and get to know her in person, then he would believe it or at least get an idea of her character or maybe become friends with her.

* * *

 **(CURIOUSNESS)**

Coming from different walks of life, Kurama and Itachi's eyes and ears lit up as they turned their heads to see on what has transpired. Although, both were too late to see the newcomer, who had already left the shop, let alone hearing the voice of that newcomer, which was that of a girl.

Itachi was puzzled as when he suddenly heard the name" Sarada" being mentioned by that mysterious newcomer. Then it came into his mind that the newcomer might possibly know the raven haired teen. He never actually got to see her full appearance in the first place since he was busy with his meal. He tried to see more about the newcomer as he turned around to see a glimpse of dark-blue hair slowly fading away from a distance.

At the same time, Kurama was also observing, He had mixed feelings of denial and surprised. He was shaking his head and couldn't figured out if that newcomer, was indeed her. He regretted himself for dismissing the familiar scent and aura that he had sense just now. Although, he did managed to get a glimpse of dark blue, which he deduced was the colour of the newcomer's hair.

With the confused looks of Kisame, Ayame, and Konohamaru towards these two individuals, both the Uchiha and the Kyuubi had newly found goals, to find out the real identity of that newcomer, and search for the exact location of her home.

 **(CHAPTER END)**

* * *

 **(INTERVIEW)**

 **"I was really curious about that newcomer, When I heard her mentioning Sarada's name, It gave me the chance to find her again through that mystery person, Somehow her voice really did sound familiar and I'm just gonna have to bring more effort this time."**

 **-Itachi**

 **"Call me crazy, but that scent and aura really reminded me of Himawari and I'm pretty sure of it. I also heard her voice and her name being mentioned but there are a lot of people in the world, having those same kind of traits, I'll just have to make sure of it and I'm going to find it out for myself."**

 **-Kurama**

* * *

 **AN: Thank you for reading the special chapter!**


	64. Arc 3 Phase 2: Close Encounters Part 3

**I don't own Naruto. Mr Kishimoto Does.**

 **Author's note: Hey there Readers!, Looks like we've finally entered Arc 3! I Hope you guys enjoy! I would also like to thank you guys for the Reviews. Favorites, and follows :)**

 **Still, I haven't found a Beta Editor yet, so I'm really alone on this one.**

 **Take note: Welcome back to another chapter once again, This chapter will tackle the identity of the mysterious prisoner, Sarada's first meeting with her teenage father, and more.**

 **Also, feel free to share some of your ideas for future chapters.**

 **Expect some grammar and spelling mistakes along the way.**

 **Thank you for Understanding :)**

 **P.S**

 **I also have a new story called "Resurrection" The story is about the dead mysteriously coming back to life years after the war. Feel free to check out the story:)**

* * *

 **Arc 3: Phase 2:**

 **Chapter 28: Close Encounters Part 3**

* * *

 **(Interview)**

 **"I really hate when someone just mysteriously disappears in the midst of a conversation or simply put that someone scornly abandons in the middle of a maze where you can't even get out."**

 **-Sakura**

* * *

Sakura was in hurry as she ran through the empty and quiet corridors of the inner areas. She was catching up to her breath as the pink haired teen had spent the rest of the time on intensively searching for the Uchiha's whereabouts. Just awhile ago, she was with Sai, who also had the same goal of locating him and now she found herself alone once more, without any clue on how she's gonna solve this current problem.

The once loud footsteps slowly faded away as the pink haired teen halted her search and stopped by on a particular empty pathway. She leaned on the wall in exhaustion and eventually slid down on the ground in a temporary defeat.

"What should I do?" A thought had came into her mind as the emotions were slowly taking over her. She can also feel her whole body trembling in anxiousness and struggled to control herself.

It was disappointment and failure that was on both sides right now. Disappointment that her efforts were not enough to locate any clues or whereabouts of the raven haired teen and Failure for being to pre occupied that she had lost track of Sai, who apparently had gone into another way.

For about a good amount of time, the pink haired teen remained at that particular spot, trying to regain the confidence and motivation which were once the driving force that continued her towards her goal of finding Sasuke. Truthfully, she was almost out of resources and even had no means of communication to contact the others, basically, her only guide was her instincts and senses.

Thoughts were also clouding her mind as there was struggle inside of her. All of her life, she doubted her capabilities as a Shinobi and as a member of this team. Even though, she was one of the main leaders of her team and progressively rising through the ranks of the system, there was a doubt if she even contributed all the time.

Her two teammates in Naruto and Sasuke, they were always the ones that were one step ahead of her. She didn't know if she had at least caught up to them. She felt as if she was still a rookie all these years.

And then she remembered a certain raven haired rookie. " _Sarada_." She whispered to herself.

There was one mysterious thing that she just realized, and that was keeping the drive alive all throughout this mission. It was the determination, humbleness and perseverance of this teen that she had witnessed through the course of the mission and somehow it was telling her that no matter what the setback or hindrance, she needed to keep moving forward.

There was a small tear that came out from her eye as she felt goosebumps all over her body and a small portion of ache on her head. She was about to let the emotions out when suddenly she felt a gushed wind passed through her and a small cherry blossom petal along with it.

The Pink haired teen immediately looked up and saw nothing, but when she turned to her right, she saw a glimpse of a person, an older woman that seemed so familiar to her. She can't figured out if this was some kind of illusion or type of Genjutsu but the mysterious woman had an appearance that somewhat familiar to her. She had the same light pink hair and donned a red cherry coloured dress.

For a few moments, Sakura stared at the pink haired woman, who was facing on a certain direction, before slightly turning her head towards surprised and baffled teen.

As Sakura silently observed the woman, she noticed the other had gave a nod and a small smile before fully turning back towards her direction and had began to walked through a particular pathway.

" _Where's she going?"_ Sakura thought to herself as she slowly got up from the ground and started following the mysterious woman.

Thoughts were also entertaining her mind as she wondered if this mysterious woman was leading her to somewhere, since the nod and the smile that she received from the woman was obviously a signal that she should follow her.

As she began to take the first steps, there was this feeling that she was finally getting close to her goal. A new hope that was building up inside and another opportunity to prove that she was worth of a teammate and that she was not as useless as many viewed her to be.

* * *

 **(MEANWHILE)**

It was never his intention to leave the pink haired teen behind the confusing maze. He really had no choice but to secretly slipped away from her attention and proceeded on to head towards the exact location where the lost Uchiha was located. Through his ink summons, he was sure that he was on the right track.

Sai traversed through the corridors as fast as he can, he could feel that he was nearing his destination as he followed his ink summons who were leading the way.

Thoughts were also circling around his head as he wondered about his target, The Uchiha himself once more. Surely that he had met the guy before back at the training arena with Kabuto and Orochimaru, but he didn't get the chance to ask him some personal questions of his own.

It was mainly about the "Bonds" that he wanted to ask in the first place. Since learning and understanding it from Naruto and Sakure, He wondered if the raven haired teen still has those bonds or maybe even knew them. This was the main reason that he secretly distant himself from the group and so as to why he left the pink haired teen back at the maze.

He wanted to confront him personally and tell him that he was going to bring him back for the sake of those " _ **Bonds**_ "

Sai could feel his heart beating faster every second as he found himself approaching a certain corridor. At the end of that very corridor was a large opened entrance although from what's inside of that room was mystery since there were any signs of light.

The young member of root took a deep breath as he continued his steps once more. He focused his eyes on that very entrance and kept guard. He was very closed on meeting the Uchiha teen once more.

This time, He was going to make him realized that he can still change.

* * *

( **Interview)**

 **"Some would questioned or doubt my motives but in truth, I was merely doing this things for the greater good of any person."**

 **-Sai**

* * *

 **(PRISONER)**

 **Location: Chamber**

Showtaro didn't pay attention to the overall appearance of the chamber, in fact he was more focused on certain person that was a few distances away from them. He immediately narrowed his eyes and proceeded to towards the person laying down and resting on a concrete wall, He donned a tattered white Kimono and also bound on to a chain. He was not alone as beside him were skeletal remains of people that were also imprisoned and chained inside this big chamber.

"Gotcha!" He widened his as he immediately headed towards the person.

Meanwhile, Both Boruto and Naruto also noticed Showtaro's hurry as they also proceeded to catch up with their duck companion. Both were very much confused but curious to see on what was the main problem all about.

Along the way, thoughts filled both of their minds as they wondered the kind of possiblities that they would face and learn later on.

Naruto became even more confused yet curious, in all of the missions that he had been assigned to, this was one of the first times that he was deviating from the main goal for a certain side mission of another. It had to be a bit distracting though.

Well, what could possibly go wrong?

And what does this have to do with Sasuke?

He couldn't just blurt out to them on how time was running out and they needed to focus on the main goal. It was kind of actually rude to interrupt but seeing the rookie beside him just keeping quiet all throughout also made him to shut his mouth and let the event happen.

Just beside him Boruto had the same thoughts as the blonde, although the rookie had to dig in deeper for theories about the mysterious person in chains. It was obvious that it was an Otsutsuki when their duck companion loudly mentioned it in front of them, but what this person on the side of good or bad?

As they finally reached their destination, the trio stopped their tracks as they finally got a good look of the person. It was indeed an Otsutsuki, who's white Kimono had been ruined and tattered, he had a very short spiky silver hair and looked as if he had been in this chamber for a very long time.

He was stuck against the wall face down with both of his hands bound to chains which were attached to the wall.

Showtaro examined the Otsutsuki prisoner and widened his eyes as he immediately drew out and on checked his record journal, he flipped the pages towards a certain page that he was looking for, once he was at the page, he found himself looking at a personal profile or information of a certain person.

There was also a lone photo of that person, which was attached on the page.

Showtaro, holding the book slightly raised his hand, aiming towards prisoner's side, followed by using the photo compare their looks and in order determine if the photo of the person matches the appearance of the prisoner in front of him.

There was also a small detailed background information written on the page.

 ** _Name: Kaiga Otsutsuki_**

 ** _Occupation" Formerly a Journalist turned Whistleblower"_**

"Looks like it matches." He commented as he finally found on what he was looking for. This was indeed the main target of his investigation.

"W-Wait, so that man is the one that you're looking?" Boruto asked and spoke for the first time, referring to the unconscious prisoner in front of them.

Showtaro simply nodded as he turned his attention towards the blonde rookie." Yes." He replied, before continuing on." Is it okay if you two could also assist me while I break this chains off." He said as he beckoned the two blondes assist the man on both sides.

The two teens reluctantly agreed as they immediately headed off to the assist on the matter. As for Showtaro, He immediately drew a tiny finger-size bottle containing a mysterious liquid, from his small brown pouch, he then opened his cap, and pour down a drop its liquid on the two chains.

After a few seconds, there was a sudden snap as the chains instantly break, thus releasing the Otsutsuki prisoner, who almost landed on the ground if it weren't for the two blondes who patiently waited and assisted him earlier.

Both blondes immediately caught the Otsutsuki and carefully laid him on the ground and rested his back on the wall.

There was a faint groan the man and it seemed that he was finally regaining his consciousness.

"Urghh..."

Showtaro calmly waited for the man to recover. He wasn't worried or anything since this man in front of him was formerly well known for his journalist exploits and writings opposing and exposing the corrupt activities of council officials back in the Pure Land. It was safe to say that he was on the side of good.

The only thing that baffled him was his sudden disappeance years ago which really was a big blow for the likes of them journalist. It seemed that the powerful forces such as the corrupt council officials had something to do with it. If it's proven true, then it could be a very serious matter, since they could be automatically charged with violation of rights and freedom.

"Hey are you alright?" Showtaro asked as he checked the man if he has now recovered.

"Kaiga."

The Otsutsuki person, now known as Kaiga, regained his consciousness, he slowly opened his eyes only to meet two teenage humans and a certain familiar duck that he hadn't seen in a hundred years.

"S-Showtaro? Is that you?" He spoke for the first time, his vision slowly becoming clearer.' H-How did you found me?" He added, still feeling the pain that he had induced through the numerous tortures.

Showtaro gave a slight chuckle." I've been through hell just to locate you." He replied, before continuing."But, listen we're going to get you out of here." He asked, assuring his friend's safety.

"Excuse me Showtaro-san, but you know him personally?" Boruto, who was still assisting the man finally spoke and asked.

Showtaro simply nodded." Yes, his name is Kaiga and unlike me, he's an Otsutsuki." He said as he briefly introduced his friend." You might commonly see him as suspicious person but I assure you that he's on the good side." He explained.

Boruto raised an eyebrow in doubt. He was still skeptic about it, since having face a number of Otsutsuki before. He was just cautios and careful." But Isn't the Otsutsuki clan is all about power and conquering worlds?" He asked.

Showtaro simply nodded in understanding." You're right about that, but that motto only belongs to the clan's generals and higher officials." He explained." Not all Otsutsuki people are considered to be dangerous." He said, referring to the lower classes of the clan.

He would go on to explained that the man came from humble beginnings and even left his own world to pursue a dream of being a journalist in the Pure Land.

"Oh I see." Boruto muttered. The teen was intrugued as this was the first time that he had heard of an Otsutsuki, unsimilar to the likes of Momishiki, Urashiki, or Jigen. An Otsutsuki who wasn't on the path towards destruction. Although, He wondered on how did the poor man ended up here. If it's true that he had been kept here for hundreds of years, then that would add up to a lot of history.

* * *

 **(Interview)**

 **"All throughout the years, It was often perceived by the majority that the Otsutsuki clan as a race of cruel supremacist or maybe the inquisition. For me, I think that kind of belief was just a product of black propaganda against them. Not all of them are same."**

 **-I was really surprised to know that not all of the Otsutsuki people are bad guys, It's been common knowledge for humanity that the clan to be a race of invading celestial beings."**

 **-Boruto**

 **"I never really get the whole Otsutsuki thing, even though it sounds interesting, My only goal here is to bring back a long lost brother."**

 **-Naruto**

* * *

As all their available time passed, Kaiga began to explained the events which led him to be a imprisoned here in this chamber. Going back to the recent events that he can remember, The Otsutsuki himself was a working friend of the Showtaro in the industry, both of them were journalist who opposed the council because of the growing political corruption and as they investigate , writing articles exposing the corrupt activities of the officials.

One such recent and major discovery through an investigation was a certain classified plan from a council official, to which seemed had greater ambitions, the plan was basically to create a constitutional convention, revising and changing the overall system of governance from a democratic to a one man parliamentary type of system.

Of course, it was considered a possible dangerous political move at first since every member was hungry for power, but it was never expected that someone from that tier would eventually be making it that kind of action. So both of them worked together to probe and exposed the secret.

However, at that time, there was a growing persecution amongst the journalist as many, who fought back were immediately eliminated. It was during this time that the organization that they were working for was disbanded and Showtaro was transferred and assigned to be an assistant to a certain long time council member with integrity, that would eventually become his boss/friend by the name of "Miyuki".

As for the other, Kaiga continued his goal of exposing the wrongdoings of the corrupt council members which led to his eventual sudden secretive capture of its forces.

"So who captured you?" Showtaro asked, wanting to know the culprits behind his imprisonment.

There was quietness that followed as the man tried to recall the faces that captured him. Kaiga could only remember the little details of the individuals that captured him years ago. The only major detail he could remember was that these group of individuals donned white hooded type of clothing. "It wasn't who." He replied."but a group of individuals considered to be his henchmen."

"They're called the Elite guard amongst us journalist."

Another quietness had took over and the majority of the trio were baffled about his statement.

"Elite Guard?" Boruto raised both eyebrows and asked.

The Otsutsuki simply nodded." Yes, they're the strongest and most dangerous group of individuals that that been causing everything until now or to say manipulating recent events that had happened before." He explained.

Boruto was put into deep thoughts once more while he was carefully listening to the man's testimony. It seemed that he heard this kind of plan before being mentioned to him and not too long he finally recalled that earlier during the events at the forest, he had confronted a member of the supposed Elite guard that the Otsutsuki was telling them about.

"Couldn't be..." He muttered as he cautiously surveyed his surroundings to see if there were any signs of them being followed.

As for the rest of the guys, especially Showtaro, he had enough of the stories for now as he decided that it was time to leave this place or else it's too late.

"I heard enough, Let's get us out of here."

* * *

 **(ENCOUNTER)**

 **Location: Training Room**

It was one of those situations that Sarada really hated being unexpectedly getting involved in.

The raven haired teen was still in shock and her body was frozen as she kept her eyes on a person that she thought was gone from her life. A person that she considered as family and that helped her through times of trouble.

Although her courage and confidence managed to prevail as she finally let out a word in the form of a faint mutter.

"Papa?"

There was silence that befall thereafter, Sarada tried to calm herself down in the midst of a fast heartbeating situation. Still wondering in her mind on what will she do next, besides standing there and just watching everything unfold in front of her eyes.

The countless times that she had tried to pinch herself in hopes of this nothing but only a dream. Although, in truth she was indeed awake in the real world and in front of a familiar person, who's blade is directly pointed at her own throat.

She could still feel her heart beating at fast rate as she struggled to think of any words or sentences to respond. So far, her brain wasn't cooperating with her and so she headed for her alternate plan to which is simply keeping quiet and being quickly observant.

She carefully moved her eyes around, to catch if anything suspicious were with them right now. She was also careful on not revealing too much, such as keeping her Sharingan on low radar. If it was visible then it could instantly cause major catastrophic changes on the timeline and even worst, bringing more craziness towards the younger version of her Papa.

So far, they were the only ones in this huge room.

The raven haired teen then moved her eyes towards the teen version of her Papa, who was very much different from the Papa that she knew since she was a little girl. It was very much true on what her Mama said about him, that he was really a very handsome young man back then and now she was seeing it in person.

She was also observant of the clothes that her Papa was currently wearing right now, a white kimono, with black short pants strapped with a giant purple-like rope on the waistline. It seemed very weird, at least for her.

Moving on from that, she moved her eyes directly to the other teen's face, especially towards the eyes. She noticed that there was something different when she looked through it. It seemed more weary and tired for a young man like him, or maybe it was the numberless trainings that he had to go through while he was still with the Snake Sannin.

"Who are you?" Sasuke had spoke once more." Answer my question." He calmly demanded.

Sarada slightly gulped, she really can't believed that he was speaking to her right now." Uhmm, M-My name is Sarada Inoue, Rookie Shinobi from the Village of Konoha." She finally responded with nervousness almost catching up to her.

There was another silence that followed, the raven haired teen's heart was racing up faster than ever before. This wss just like the first time she had ever met him, years ago when she was still studying at the academy. For about a few moments after, she waited for the other teen's reaction or response.

Her thoughts were not even helping her since worry is the only thing that it could bring to her at the moment. A common thing in this kinds of situations.

She wondered the possiblities on what could happened next.

Would this turn into somekind of staring competition like what they're doing right now?

A stand off interrogation act?

Or worse, being forced into a situation were she had no choice but to face and defend herself, just in case the teen would try to hurt her.

These were some possiblities that could really happen right now. She kept telling herself not to anything idiotic that would cause all of these. Even just a little scratched on her eyebrow would cause even the slightest reactions. So she just remained in her position.

However, a little time had passed by, the results had finally arrived and it wasn't the possibility that she was expecting to happen, which was also surprising.

"Are you a part of team that is sent here to bring me back?" Another question was followed up.

Sarada took a slight breath as she simply nodded, althought wondered on how the heck did he knew the fact that there would be a team to rescue him, and but did not said any word thereafter. She also prepared and braced herself for any possible violent confrontations.

It was at this time that raven haired young man slowly lowered his blade. By then, he began to slowly reached his hand towards the girl, who was puzzled and confused.

 _"What the heck is he doing?_ " Sarada thought to herself, she didn't knew what to do at the moment. She felt weirded out instead being afraid on the current situation and as the hand finally reached towards her cheeks, she felt surprised and noticed something different about the teen in front of her.

When she attempted another quick observation, she noticed that the teen was somewhat in a state of shock, it seemed that he couldn't believe on what he was seeing in front him.

"You look very familiar." He said, which made the girl even more confused.

At this point in time, Sarada was beginning to feel uncomfortable. Was it the right time to take action or will she just let it be?

As time continued, there was a quietness once more that took over and Sarada took noticed of her young Papa's face more. It was on the verge of an emotional state. He was also trying to say something to which the girl wasn't able to catch fully.

But It seemed that he was mentioning someone's name.

On the other side of things, it was a different level. Sasuke was stunned to see someone that he had saw from all the flashes of his strange dreams before. The girl wearing a red glasses, she was real and in front of him. She was not just a figment of his mind.

How was that even possible?

There was also this strange feeling as if he had met her from somewhere before and this was only the first time that he had actually seen her face to face. In fact, when he heard the name _"Sarada",_ there was a sudden surge of emotions inside of him that he no idea where it originated from.

As He was about to say her name once more, he was suddenly interrupted by something unexpected.

 **"Sasuke Uchiha."**

A male voice was then heard calling his name and followed by a kunai heading straight towards them from the right side like a speeding bullet.

In a matter of seconds, Sasuke immediately caught the projectile, effortlessly with his right hand." Why do I always get interrupted." He commented to himself, as he then gave a small smirked." By someone, who can't mind his own business." He added before turning his attention towards a certain familiar black haired teen, who had finally revealed himself from the shadows.

"Sai!?" Sarada whispered to herself." But How did he managed to get undetected?" She wondered.

From a distant away, Sai finally revealed himself from the shadows as he commanded a number of his ink minions in the form of snakes to surround him in every direction. Some of the snakes also tied itself around the teen's legs, arms and hands.

"Sarada, get out of here!" Sai exclaimed and called the raven haired rookie, who also did what she was told.

As attention drew towards both young men, things had escalated quickly while the rookie became an audience.

"It's too late, I already have the advantage here." Sai informed his counterpart, he was ready to attack anytime the teen resists.

Sasuke calmly stared at him, he wasn't intimidated the fact that he could take all of his ink creatures out if he wanted to. But he instead chose to let him talk for awhile.

"What's your purpose here?" He asked.

Sai stood on his guard." Danzo-sama wants your death." He replied causing the raven haired rookie to widened her eyes in surprised.

"Is that so?" Sasuke asked, he was amused.

Sai simply nodded." Of course, I originally came here to kill you, but there's something that made me realized the fact that you shared a strong "Bond" with your friends." He said, referring to Naruto and Sakura.

"I wanted to protect the bond of frienship, that they're striving hard to keep!" He added with an exclamation point.

"I will do no matter what it takes to return you back to the village!" His true intentions finally revealed, recalling the goals of both of his current teammates.

Sarada was surprised to hear that kind of statement from the black haired teen. It was very much unbelievable since just awhile ago, the teen had a different goal in life and now, she was witnessing the change in his heart coming to fruition.

As for Sasuke, He greeted it with silence, he brought his head down, before finally speaking." So that's your excuse for interrupting me?"

That was his only reply since, he had already planned on attacking the teen as he began to drew out his weapon.

Sai had anticipated this as he gave a sign thus commanding his ink snake minions to incapacitate the Uchiha. Although, he was already too late as the last thing that he saw were two blood red eyes followed by an explosion.

* * *

 **(MEANWHILE)**

A good amount of time passed as the pink haired girl found herself running through the corridors of the hideout, the mysterious woman who was leading her to the right directions suddenly disappeared from her sight during the journey which was considered a loss. Whoever that woman was, at least she gave her the help that she really needed.

She found herself alone once more, but to no avail, she kept moving on as she found her confidence and drive once more. Determined to catch up with the rest, the teenage kunouchi added more boost to catch the time, she could only trust her gut and by the time she was halfway through her journey, something unexpected startled her.

Sakura stopped her tracks as she almost lost her balance while traversing the path which would led her to the exact location. She had been running through a number of pathways when an unexpected earthquake rock throughout the area.

"What in the world!?" She exclaimed as she grabbed a nearby wall to regained her balance.

The pink haired teen surveyed through her surroundings and noticed that the place was still shaking from the aftershock of the supposed earthquake. Was it really an earthquake though? It seemed that there was a loud boom that she heard just before the earthquake.

Sakura kept moving on as she could feel that the supposed earthquake was just nearby. So she hurried her feet and proceeded to head towards the place. It took a number of turns to get to that right path and by the time she got to that said path, she was greeted by a light from the other side.

 _"The Exit!"_ Sakura thought to herself as she immediately headed straight towards it.

Along the way, thoughts were beginning to cloud her mind once again. If this was really it, she have to really prepare herself for this confrontation. If she was really going to meet the Uchiha, she needed to strengthen her heart and her mind. She knew that this would be a very tough confrontation.

As she kept running towards the exit, she noticed a person standing outside." Sai?" She thought to herself as she wondered on how the heck did the guy get there. Was He responsible for the earthquake or explosion?

At this rate, irritation began to take over since she hasn't forget on what he had did to her, abandoning her all alone at the maze. She also doubted his change of heart since he still wanted to chase his goal of assassinating her former Uchiha teammate.

As she neared the exit, her questions were cleared as it was indeed the young root, who was standing on the middle of destroyed room and looking upwards.

The pink haired teen gripped her hands as she was going to make sure that the black haired teen would know his lesson, for backstabbing her and the rest of the team many times.

* * *

 **(MEANWHILE)**

"He broke my Jutsu"

Those were first words that the black haired teen had said as he stared upwards looking at a certain Sasuke Uchiha, who had effortlessly destroyed his ink summons in a matter of seconds.

The once training room of the hideout had been transformed into its now current state of destruction. Giant boulders of rocks scattered everywhere, the whole place was in ruins while the blue sky along with the hot sun had took over this time.

He was place in a state of disbelief for the first time. It seemed that he had underestimated the guy yet again and he found himself wondering on what should he do next.

At the same time, a new presence had entered the scene in the form of a pink haired teen, who suddenly emerged from the hideout and immediately went towards him.

Sakura finally reached her destination as she headed towards the young root. With irriration and a small sense of vengeance, she grabbed him by the collar and lashed out at him.

"What the heck do you really want!?" She exclaimed as she released her anger directly towards him, shaking him back and forth.

"What are you really after!?" She demanded to know the truth from him as she was finally sick of his lies. She wanted him to reveal everything that he knows including his real goals in this mission, since he was just a spy.

"How many times are you going to backsta-" She wasn't able to finish her sentence since a familiar voice suddenly interrupted her.

 **"Sakura."**

The pink haired teen was cut and she immediately stopped her mouth as she immediately recognized that voice. A voice to which she hadn't heard in years. A voice that said those words" Thank You." to her

As she slightly turned her head towards the source of the voice, memories began to flashed before eyes, the times that they had spent together as teammates, friends, and the last memory of him leaving the village in the dead of the night.

 _"Thank you for everything."_

She still remembered those words that he had said before. The last time they had met and parted ways. She still kept those words inside of her mind and to till this day would remember that moment.

By the time, she finally looked upwards, she saw the person that she had been searching for all these years.

Meanwhile, Sarada stood from behind a giant boulder as she watched the scene unfold right in front of her eyes. In truth, she didn't knew what to do right in the moment since the confrontation had escalated into new levels. She also remembered from the stories that her Mama would used to tell her about the time her team met her Papa for this first time in years during a certain mission in their teens.

This was in fact that moment in time.

Right now, she was just going to hide and witnessed this moment in her family's history unfold.

* * *

 **(TIME BOMB)**

By the time the rest have decided to evacuate the large chamber, a strong earthquake was suddenly felt all over the area.

Boruto and Naruto, who was assisting the still weakened Otsutsuki, stopped their tracks for awhile to let the effects of the quake passed by. Right in their minds was confusion and surprised as they wondered on where the unexpected quake came from.

"What the heck was that?" Naruto asked, he was the one that was startled the most, giving his counterpart a concerned look in the eye.

There was silence around them. Showtaro quietly surveyed his surroundings. He told everyone to stay calm and be alert for any possible threats towards them right now, so far there were none.

Slowly but surely, they continued on albeit in a very careful and not so fast manner. Along the way, one of them noticed something odd going around the walls and ceilings especially the symbols, which were glowing brightly one by one.

"What's going on here?" Boruto spoke this time. He too was puzzled and confused right at the moment, although he had that feeling of danger approaching fast.

Showtaro observed the surroundings, in fact this was all too familiar to him since he immediately recognized the symbols and there was a pattern or somesort going on. He just can't figured it out yet and it was really annoying.

"Showtaro." He was called once again by his friend.

Kaiga Otsutsuki, who was still in his weakened state, tried his best to speak." You guys need to get out here fast." He warned them." What you're seeing right now is not a display, but a countdown." He added.

All of them stopped there tracks a sudden and turned their attention towards the weakened Otsutsuki.

"Countdown to what?" Showtaro asked, while the other just gave him a nod along with a very serious look.

"He means this chamber is going to blow up anytime." Boruto finally spoke, confirming the fears of everyone as he continued explaining." The symbols or should I say numbered, glowed one by one as a sign that the countdown has started and it's only a matter of time before-"

The blonde was suddenly cut as he was interrupted by his jougan, which secretly and instantly activated, beckoning him to turn towards a certain directions as he then noticed a familiar figure standing in a certain corner of the huge chamber. It was none other than " _Tensai_ " the white cloaked person who he had met and confronted back in the forest.

He was just standing there and observing them. He had that suspicious smile on his face, and it was obviously kind of smile when someone was going to get killed.

"Bolt? Are you alright?" The familiar voice of his young dad interrupted him." Is something the matter?"

For a moment, the rookie was silent, he was beginning to realize that their arrival here has somehow been expected by the enemy and this could be possibly be a surprising trap for them. Boruto then gave each of the guys a look." Let's get out here as fast we can!" He exclaimed as he told the rest to continue on.

"Right!" Both Naruto and Showtaro nodded in agreement as the group continued.

As they took the steps towards the only exit, the place also began to crumble at the same time, as one by one parts of the ground and ceiling began to explode.

"Avoid the boulders!" Showtaro warned as giant portions of the destroyed ceilings began to fall towards the ground in an unexpected attempt to crush all of them.

Boruto and Naruto were very much concentrated on what they were doing right now. Both had the task of taking every careful step while also assisting and keeping the Otsutsuki in one piece.

As the countdown neared its final moments, half of the area had already been engulfed by the explosion and was finally catching up to them. At the same time, the group found themselves drawing near the exit, Showtaro was the first one to reach into safer grounds while the two blondes were still catching up.

"Dammit, it's nearing us!" Naruto gritted his teeth as he was sprinting as fast as he can.

As for Boruto, he just kept quiet and thought of plans to reduced the risk of them getting caught by the explosion. There was one idea that stood up and the rookie took a glance of his right hand.

"Looks like I got no choice." He muttered as this was the only way for them to be really safe from danger.

As the explosion were just inches away from them, Boruto wasted no time as he removed himself from the rest, pushing Naruto and Kaiga towards the exit with full strength, Once that was done, he then immediately turned around, raising up his right hand, and pointing towards the explosion itself.

His right hand, which had a small diamond shape mark on the middle of the palm, glowed as it resisted the force of the explosion and began absorbing it instead. Soon marks began to appear on his skin which spreaded across the right side of his body forming angular and curving geometric patterns, extending up to his right eye, and then glowed blue. It didn't took long enough that he felt pain on his hand as the force was too much powerful to absorb and he along was blown away by it. However, He did managed to create space thus saving himself from being overwhelmed by the fire.

He also braced himself for impact as he found himself being sent towards a certain wall. But luckily, he was then safely caught by Naruto who reacted quickly and prevented him from fully crashing. By that time, the glowing marks on his body fully faded away before Naruto could see it.

"Hey! Are you alright rookie?" Naruto asked the blonde who was still grabbing his hand in pain.

"Yeah, I'm fine." Boruto replied back. He was still cringing since it will take time for the pain to go away." Enough about me, are they alright?" He then asked regarding Showtaro and the Otsutsuki.

Naruto nodded as he helped the blonde recover from the ground." Yeah they're fine. He said, as pointed towards the duck and the man, who were recovering from the recent explosion." Is your hand alright by the way?" He asked, he was concerned for the rookie because his hand seemed to be emitting somesort of smoke.

Boruto gave a weak smile." Yeah, I'm fine, I almost got it burnt but luckily I was able to avoid it just in time." He explained, as he slowly stood up.

Naruto gave a sigh of relief." That's good to hear." He said, before turning towards a the former entrance of the said chamber which was now blocked by chunks of boulders." I really have no idea on what's going with all of this but I'm glad we're able to make it alive." He commented.

"Yeah I know." Boruto gave a small smile and as he was about to follow his sentence, the walkie talkie, which had been silent the whole time, came back to life as a familiar voice spoke through it calling his name.

 **"Boruto come in! Do you copy!?"** The voice of Sarada spoke through the walkies as if she was in a dangerous situation.

Naruto widened his eyes in surprised." Wait, Sarada-san calls you " **Boruto?** " He asked, while the his blonde counterpart could only give him a look.

As for Boruto, He immediately drew out his walkie and replied back." Yeah, I'm here Sarada, Have you managed to locate Un-Sasuke Uchiha." He asked.

 **"Yes! you guys should really come over here right now**." The voice of the raven haired teen replied, explaining to them look for a certain pathway leading to a huge training room to which has already been destroyed.

"Thanks, we'll be right there, what's the current situation?" He asked one more time. although unfortunately the signal suddenly went down.

"You've got to be kidding me!" Boruto annoyingly exclaimed, before giving sigh. From what he had heard, it seemed that the situation there was escalating.

They really needed to rush now.

"Alright guys we should really get going or else..." The blonde rookie trailed off as he found himself staring at the empty position where Naruto used to be.

"What the- Where the heck is He!?" A shocked Boruto asked, it was only him, Showtaro, and the Otsutsuki who were left.

Showtaro, who was nursing his friend back to health, gave the blonde a nod and smile." You go on ahead, We'll catch up later."

"From the bottom of my heart, Thank you for helping me rescue Kaiga." He added.

Boruto nodded in understanding as he then proceeded to head towards the path where the other blonde had took just awhile ago. As for now he could only swear at his young dad right now.

"Dammit Old man!"

* * *

 **(Interview)**

 **"Whenever someone mentions Uncle Sasuke's name, The old man would always gets that excitement, That really confuses me."**

 **-Boruto**

* * *

 **(Meanwhile)**

Naruto dashed his way through the final pathway of the corridor. By the time he had heard the conversation and that the rest of the team had managed to find the long lost Uchiha, a sudden burst of adrenaline took over him as he felt the need to head to that area where the rest were currently at.

His only fault was not telling the rookie before he left but he managed to wave a sign towards Showtaro and the rest.

All those three years that he had trained and worked hard was for this moment. He considered himself to be ready and prepared to finally confront him. He still remembered that fateful day which he failed to bring him back because he wasn't strong enough.

Naruto narrowed his eyes in determination. He found himself running towards a certain exit which would eventually led him towards his final destination. From a distance he could finally see two people standing there, which soon revealed to be his two teammates in the form of Sakura and Sai.

He shook his head as he didn't believed that he was too late. No matter what happens, he's going to prove that all those years wasn't a fluke and he will make sure that promise that he made will be fulfilled.

He briefly stopped his tracks and rested for several seconds. He was gathering every confidence that he could find as there was no turning back once he proceeded on. Naruto took a deep breath and soon continued on his feet as he headed towards final exit.

As He finally reached the end of his journey, he let out his last words before entering the scene.

"I'm gonna bring you back, Dattebayo!"

 **(CHAPTER END)**

* * *

 **AN: Thank you for reading the story!**

* * *

 **Preview for Next Chapter:**

 **With the rest of Team Kakashi, incapacitated, Sasuke stood in triumph as he stabbed Sai on the shoulder, pinning him against a giant boulder. The Uchiha gave an emotionless stare at the young root, reminding him on not to interfere with other people's business once again.**

 **"Sasuke!"**

 **Then again, the familiar voice of his former blonde teammate exclaimed as he then turned around only to meet the teen charging towards him once more with a kunai on his hand.**

 **Sasuke gave an arrogant smirked." It's no use, He's can't even control his own balance." He thought as he proceeded to removed his blade, which was stuck from Sai's shoulder.**

 **He then proceeded to make his next move by swaying the blade towards the charging blonde in hopes slicing him in half, although his efforts were suddenly interrupted by something he didn't expected.**

 **The world around him slowed down in motion as he felt something headed straight for him, He was just about to activate his Sharingan when suddenly he felt someone grabbed his hand from behind, preventing him from slashing Naruto, who also stopped his tracks, and when he turned to face that certain someone, he widened his eyes in surprised to see the raven haired rookie, Sarada Inoue in front of him with a looked that felt like a knife in the heart.**

 **He was distracted for awhile before another presence had entered the scene, to which he also felt. The second that he was about to turned around, He saw what appears to be small blue ball of energy, which appeared from thin air and flying straight towards him with incredible speed.**

 **The last thing he saw before being sent away was a flash of yellow lightning.**


	65. Arc 3 Phase 2: Face Off

**I don't own Naruto. Mr Kishimoto Does.**

 **Author's note: Hey there Readers!, Welcome to Arc 3 Phase 2. I Hope you guys enjoy! I would also like to thank you guys for the Reviews. Favorites, and follows :)**

 **Take note: Welcome back to another chapter once again, This chapter will tackle more of the confrontations between Team 7 and Sasuke, little secrets revealed and more fight scenes.**

 **Expect some grammar and spelling mistakes along the way.**

 **Thank you for Understanding :)**

 **P.S**

 **I also have a new story called "Resurrection" The story is about the dead mysteriously coming back to life years after the war. Feel free to check out the story:)**

* * *

 **Arc 3: Phase 2**

 **Chapter 29: Face Off Part 1**

 **(Flashback** )

 _"Mama, what was it like when you first met Papa?"_

 _Curiosity had finally caught up with the little girl. Sarada observed a set of small picture frames displayed on a certain table located in the living room. One photo had been giving her all the curiousity for years already, that one photo which contained the only image of her father, who she hasn't met in person before._

 _The little girl adjusted her glasses as she continued to observed the lone image of her mysterious father. She had no idea when this was taken but she assumed that her father was very much very young in this photo, specifically during his teenage years._

 _"Was He always this serious-looking?" She added to her questions. Was her Papa really that kind of person?_

 _Sakura, who was busy ironing clothes, could only smile as she began to reminisce the good old days. Right from time of her childhood to her teenage years until now, she still couldn't figured out on why her husband had retained that serious look in him._

 _"Well, Your father has been always serious since we were kids." Sakura replied as she gave a small giggle._

 _Little Sarada could only raised an eyebrow in confusion." So that's why he was center of attention with the girls." She asked._

 _Another smile was let out from the pink haired woman." That's right!" She simply said. She had been expecting this from her daughter for awhile now, and she was glad that she was ready for anytime that she asked about him._

 _Little Sarada then gave an amused look." Looks like it, but I'm still don't get why would a lot of girls like serious people." She wondered, as she observed her younger Papa's eyes._

 _Those eyes, as if he had went through a lot of things._

 _Just then a new question popped out and she proceeded to ask._

 _"Was there are time that you guys had an argument or maybe the first time you guys fight over something?" She added the question to her list of curiosities._

 _As for Sakura, there were a lot of memories from the vault and there was this one memory regarding a certain person to which she had ultimately lost during that silent night years ago._

 _"Thank you for everything"_

 _She still remembered those last words._

 _There was silence around the living room, Little Sarada was very much confused to see her Mama, staring at the blank space as there small tears falling from her eyes. Was she okay?_

 _Sakura gave a small smile." Yes, there were a lot of times." She simply replied, turning her eyes towards her daughter." You know Sarada, your father was a very different person back then." She added, before continuing." He was more ambitious with his goals, and you wouldn't like him as a person." She explained._

 _"Wouldn't like him? Come on Mama, I know a lot of kids, who has that same attitude." Sarada gave another skeptical look._

 _Sakura could only gave a small smile." Well, but not as tacky as your father." She said, her daughter having no idea that she had to go through a lot of challenges and hardships just to bring back him back from the darkness, which kept him for many years._

 _As for Little Sarada, she was unable to get the big picture regarding her Mama's story. What was really going on with them when they were young? Did something happened that made the relationship sour before?_

 _The raven haired girl might not know the real story but she hoped that she will understand it when the right time arrives._

 _She hoped to meet him soon._

* * *

 **Present Day**

Cold sweat was all over her skin, Sarada hid behind a certain boulder as she silently watched the scene unfold from behind. At this moment in time, she was frozen to the point where she can't even move her whole body properly, the pressure was high as she could feel her heart beating fast. The wind was in its peak completing to what is now, the tense atmosphere.

The rookie moved her eyes around to observed the rest of the surroundings. The whole place was pretty much messed up by the unexpected explosion. She almost found herself being crushed to death by the falling debris but she was able to avoid danger by swiftly evading all of them and even destroying a boulder into pieces.

Everybody, except for two certain blondes, stood still as all their heads were looking up, staring at a the raven haired teen for the first time.

She was now just an observer as she found herself witnessing scene in history unfold. She recalled when she was a kid, her Mama used to tell her stories, her experiences as a Shinobi during her younger years and there was one time that she told a memory regarding Team 7's first encounter with the Uchiha years after his defection.

"Could this be it?"

"Could this be that moment?"

She thought to herself before changing positions to take a good look on what was happening right now.

She narrowed her eyes closely and observed.

So far there were only three people at the scene, the main members of Team 7, consisting of Sakura and Sai, and the former member, Sasuke Uchiha, who was standing on higher grounds, overlooking down at them.

The sun was in its peak, bringing nothing but the heat and blinding light. Silence was all over the ruins except for the wind that continue to blew passed by.

As for Sasuke, the raven haired teen moved his eyes around in order to see if there was anyone besides them here. A few moments later, he suddenly remembered that there was something missing, someone from his past.

There was only one more person that was missing and by the time that person arrives, the reunion would now be complete and all he have to do was to wait.

* * *

 **(Interview)**

 **"It was pretty much a different atmosphere, I knew that it would be very plain stupid if I immediately reveal myself just to forcefully take over the situation, so I chose to stay hidden for awhile and observe more."**

 **-Sarada**

* * *

 **(Meanwhile)**

His heart was racing.

Naruto dashed his way through the final pathway of the corridor. By the time he had heard the conversation and that the rest of the team had managed to find the long lost Uchiha, a sudden burst of adrenaline took over him as he felt the need to head to that area where the rest were currently at.

His only fault was not telling the rookie before he left but he managed to wave a goodbye sign towards Showtaro and his friend, telling them to catch up once they have recovered.

All those three years that he had trained and worked hard was for this moment. He considered himself to be ready and prepared to finally confront him. He still remembered that fateful day which he failed to bring him back because he wasn't strong enough. That wss still stuck in his mind, which kept repeating everyday.

Naruto narrowed his eyes in determination. He found himself going through different directions and time passed he found himself running towards a certain exit which would eventually led him towards his final destination. From a distance he could finally see two people standing there, which soon revealed to be his two teammates in the form of Sakura and Sai.

He shook his head as he didn't believed that he was too late. No matter what happens, he's going to prove that all those years wasn't a fluke and he will make sure that promise that he made will be fulfilled.

He briefly stopped his tracks and rested for several seconds. He was gathering every confidence that he could find as there was no turning back once he proceeded on. Naruto took a deep breath and soon continued on his feet as he headed towards final exit.

As He finally reached the end of his journey, he let out his last words before entering the scene.

"I'm gonna bring you back, Dattebayo

By the time he stepped out from the darkness, he was immediately greeted by the bright light as he found himself being almost blinded by it. His vision was blurry and could only see the glimpses of his teammates, who were all standing in the middle and looking upwards.

"What are they doing?" He asked himself as he stopped his tracks once he arrived at the middle.

"Are you guys alright?" He immediately asked the two, although thr blonde didn't get at least a response from them.

Naruto continued to expand his mind as he proceeded to looked around the area that he was currently in right now. It seemed that this place was a training room or somesort that had been recently destroyed. He then recalled that there was a mysterious earthquake that rattled the whole hideout before, and it was all finally coming to him.

He immediately felt a familiar presence from above and as soon as he stopped his direction and looked up like the rest of his teammates were now doing.

By the time he looked up, his vision became clearer and he widened his shocked to see a familiar face that he had not seen for these past three years.

A face, which had very cold eyes staring at him right now.

"Sasuke." Naruto muttered under his breath. His body was frozen in shocked as he had no idea that all of this would be so overwhelming for him.

It was a very unexpected moment for him and he stood there staring with a mixed of disbelief and shocked.

As for Sasuke, the guy kept his emotionless state, He narrowed his eyes towards the trio as he continued to observed them, especially the blonde." So you're here huh?"

So far there were only three of them and without any Jounin captain leading them, which gave confusion.

Where was Kakashi?

Was He too sick to go?

Or Was He usually late as always on his arrivals.

" I assumed Kakashi is with you somewhere here." The Uchiha said, although there was no response from the other party.

Although, it doesn't matter since it was kind of an amusing thing for him to see them all once again after three years. He had to admit that those two had really changed since he had last saw them. He wondered on how strong they were now.

He kept his eyes towards the trio and continued to observed them. By the time he had laid his sight on the black haired teen, which was Sai, He finally realized the revelation.

"So he's my replacement?" He asked, wanting to know the clarification from the rest, but there was still no response, giving him another chance to make another comment of his own.

"So another loser has join in the ranks."

* * *

 **(MEANWHILE)**

It was indeed a very shocking and surprising moment for the team, especially for Naruto and Sakura. Everyone had expected this to happened, they were ready for every possiblities ahead of them although still they weren't able to to immediately act by the time the moment had arrived.

They were all silent, especially Naruto, who's mind was on overdrive, thinking of any ways to bring his professionalism out of him. He wanted to show everyone that he had matured and he can handle this types of situations.

Although, the only problem was that he had been quiet for too long already, he was pretty too late which instead brought more awkwardness to the situation.

He looked to his right and saw his pink haired teammate, who's also having the same kind of problem as well." Sakura-chan too!?" He thought to himself, as he briefly observed the girl, who was having a tough time to recuperate.

While the two teens where still finding their confidence, Sai had other plans, He was more in the side of getting things done, with a very serious face, he proceeded to raised up his katana, getting the attention of everyone, even surprising the pink haired teen.

"What the heck Sai!?" Naruto widened his eyes in surprised and exclaimed out.

Sakura, being the calmest stood there baffled once more. She thought the teen haf already change and turned into a new leaf." Sai, you're mission was to-" She was suddenly interrupted by the latter.

"Yes! My original mission was secretly assasinate Sasuke-kun." He said, before continuing on." But I don't care about my orders anymore." He added, narrowing his eyes towards the Uchiha.

"I want to act my own free will now, and I want Naruto-kun to help me remember to what its like to feel." He explained, finally showing his true colors to the everyone.

"And I think it was something important."

Naruto and Sakura continued to listen to the young root. This was the first time that they hear speak like this. It was not the usual strange emotionless teenager that they met days ago.

As for Sai, he gave his all his voice out and exclaimed towards the Uchiha." I don't know much about you but I know there's a reasom why Naruto and Sakura came all the way here just for you!" He said.

"They're all going out here just to keep that "Bond" from being severed." He said, as he took glances at the two." I still don't understand that."

"But for you, you must understand that!"

There was silence that took over once more. Sai finished his speech strong as he expected it to be. He really wanted the Uchiha to realized that "Bond" And he hope that guy would understand everything that was happening right now.

Although, his efforts were still yet to be considered worth it.

Sasuke could only gave a small smirk and shook his head. What was this guy saying? Does he even know anything about his history? Why was he blurting out words as if he already knows the truth?

"You don't know anything." The Uchiha replied towards the teen." You see, I have a different "Bond." He added, as his mind began to trigger the memories of his big brother, especially that fateful night.

"I have a bond of hatred with my brother." He continued." Surely, other bonds had merely confused you and I understand why." He explained." And distract you from your greatest desires and emotions that matter."

He was a person who never lets himself be taken over and weakened by these bonds, he had to stay like this way in order to achieved his goal. Heck, he would not even hesitate to severe his former bonds with his old teammates, apparently he considered the bonds that tied him to them, a hindrance to his goal.

He was showing everything from his despise and carelessness just to make them believed and realized that they should have given up. The last time they had a chance to save him was three years ago, during his battle with the blonde at the valley..

As for Naruto, He was narrowed his eyes and gritted his teeth in annoyance. He refused to believed the Uchiha's statement.

"Then Why Didn't you Kill me!?" The blonde said, referring to his last battle with the Uchiha at the Valley of the End." Is this your Idea of cutting off bonds!? Sasuke!" He furiously added, much to the concern of his pink haired teammate.

There was quietness once more as Sasuke closed his eyes, remembering his big brother's last words to him." The reason is simple." He said." It's not that I couldn't cut off my bonds with you."

"The idea of doing what he said in order to become more poweful made me sick." He added.

Naruto narrowed his eyes." What are you trying to tell me?" He asked, all of these was vague for him.

Sasuke continued to be emotionless expression." That day I left you on a whim..." He trailed off, still recalling his unexpected victory three years ago, before jumping down towards the blonde in a blink of an eye.

The rest of everybody was startled and shocked to find the find the Uchiha in front of them already and He was leaning on the blonde as he continued to his speech." Come to think of it, wasn't your dream to become Hokage?" He asked.

"You should've spent these three years training instead of wasting your time around chasing me, right Naruto?" Sasuke added, secretly giving a small devious smile.

"And this time I'm going to kill you on a whim." He finished his sentence as he drew out his blade, and pointed it on the blonde's back, He was serious in his words and he was really going to do it.

Sakura was still shocked, as much as she wanted take action right now, she was unable to, because her whole body was frozen and she can't even move a single muscle. She directed her eyes towards the young root, who was still standing there." What are you doing Sai!?" She exclaimed.

* * *

 **(Interview)**

 **"Every single thing was happening at the same time, I really wanted to help Naruto, but something was preventing me to do so. Sai on the other hand was obviously going to take matters in to his own hands."**

 **-Sakura**

* * *

 **(MEANWHILE)**

Sarada held gripped her hands on the giant boulder that she was hiding in. She was now on the point of getting out of her position in hopes of saving the seventh but it would only reveal her presence to the rest.

She was now eager and ready to do it. It looked as if her teen Papa was really going for the kill and she had no choice but to take action right now or else.

And as she was about to make her move, something unexpected interrupted and prevented her in the form of certain familiar male voice from behind.

"I wouldn't do that if I were you."

* * *

 **(MEANWHILE)**

Naruto stood there still, he was in fact surprised, despite the distinctive sound of the blade being drawn he still decided to handle the situation in a more calmer way, he still remembered and kept the blonde rookies' advices, he knew that it was the only way to do it.

He was still on the Uchiha's grasps and it was the perfect time to respond." Someone who can't even save even one friend isn't fit to become Hokage." He replied back, towards his former teammate.

"Right, Sasuke?" He added, with a little dose of sarcasm.

Sasuke stayed in silence." So be it" He said before proceeding to stabbed the blonde on the back.

The world began to slow down as the rest watched the Uchiha slowly directed his blade towards the blonde's back. Everyone thought this was finally it since it was too late to interfere but in the last few seconds, a certain black haired teen quickly rushed and blocked the attack.

By the time Sasuke had proceeded to stab the blonde, the young root took action and as swiftly as the wind he appeared in front of the Uchiha, and behind the blonde's back, blocking the attack by immediately grabbing raven haired teen's hand.

It immediately grabbed the attention and caused both surprised reactions from Sakura and Sarada at the same time, although Naruto remained calmed, He had already expected the young root to take action.

Meanwhile, the momentum was transfered between Sai and Sasuke, as they engaged on a stare off.

"That's the correct way to block my attack I'm surprised." The Uchiha commented with a sarcastic tone of voice. In truth, He was a bit amused since the other guy was treating this seriously.

As for Naruto, He gave a brief eye contact towards the young root as he decided to make the first move by suddenly grabbing the Uchiha's arm in order to incapacitate him long enough for Sai to make the second attack by knocking him down.

Although, The Uchiha was a step ahead of them as a series of lightning bolts began to appear on both of his hands summoning a familiar technique.

 **"Chidori Nagashi!"**

Not more than a second a the ligtning quickly spread out and headed towards both of the two teens beside him. It unleashed a small explosion causing the teens to forcibly let go of the Uchiha as they were sent flying away to a distance, crashing on the ground.

Sasuke stood as the lightning static was surrounding him. He observed his surroundings

It didn't stop from there as the Uchiha turned his direction towards the blonde, who was still recovering, and proceeded to charge at him at full speed.

As for Naruto, The blonde was still recovering when he suddenly felt a presence fast approaching him. He immediately looked up and saw his former teammate charging at him at full speed.

He wasn't able to react that much since the other teen was faster, and for a few seconds there, He really felt helpless and just stared at him waiting for his supposed demise.

Luckily, He was able to gather himself up as he felt this strange energy that burst out inside of him and it wasn't from the Kyuubi. As if it was an untapped energy or just merely an unknown instinct that he wasn't aware of.

Naruto quickly evaded the attack, causing the Uchiha to hit the ground instead.

The blonde stood up as he immediately drew out his Kunai, anticipating another attack from the latter which happened in a matter of seconds.

Sasuke drove towards Naruto once more, gripping his blade, as he was ready to give another attack once more.

Naruto, this time prepared, braced himself as he sided on the defensive stance. He knew that this was going down the line, and as the Uchiha finally reached him, he gripped his Kunai and sway his hand thus clashing with the other's blade.

The battle between the blonde Uzumaki and raven haired Uchiha resumed once again since their last battle three years ago at the Valley of the End.

"Damn!" Naruto gritted his teeth. He was almost overwhelmed by the sheer power that Uchiha projected and he could feel the blue electric sparks of the Chidori trying to transfer to his body and harm him.

He could feel his hands shaking and so as the force of the blade pushing through against him. He had little time left before everything could go wrong for him. Luckily, he managed to avoid another supposed fate as he jumped away from the Uchiha, doing a backflip and landing a few distances away from him.

Sasuke continued to charged at the blonde, who braced himself once more, and this time his attempted strike was blocked yet again by the blonde, which was followed his counterattack via a quick uppertcut up to the chin which stunned him.

Naruto slowly turned to the offensive side as he followed a series of strikes towards the Uchiha, who immediately anticipated it, and evaded those attacks with ease.

The battle was slowly turning into a Taijutsu fight.

Naruto gritted his teeth in annoyance as he can't seemed to land any of his attacks on the Uchiha since his sneaky uppercut. Even though, his Taijutsu wasn't on the elite levels, yet still he believed in his ability and continued to held his own against the Uchiha.

As for Sasuke, He kept a small amused look, He never really expected the blonde to be keeping up with this. It was very typical of him to be unpredictable right now, yet he still can see the flaws in the blonde.

After a handful of time engaging on a Taijutsu battle, The Uchiha decided that it was finally enough as he looked forward to end this once and for all. He swiftly evaded one strike by the blonde by ducking down causing the teen to gave a surprised look. He then proceeded to immediately strike the blonde right on the stomach using the handle of the Katana to incapacitate him.

He didn't used his Chidori or even strike him with the sharp edges of the blade because of reasons that he can't even explained.

Naruto cringed as he felt the pain in his stomach, he let go of his fighting stance as he was then sent flying towards a distance via a strong kick from the Uchiha. The blonde landed and came crashing on ground and also letting go of his Kunai.

Sakura stood there as she helplessly watched the the scene unfold right in front of her. Here it was again, as her own fear was taking over and she couldn't even bring herself to helped the blonde. The atmosphere was very tensed as she tried to move her wobbly legs towards the scene.

She kept her eyes on the Uchiha, who was still dealing with the blonde.

A thought then suddenly came up to the pink haired teen. If she could act fast enough, she could end this battle by sneaking up to the Uchiha in hopes of knocking him out. It was indeed a really good idea but the only problem was that she didn't have enough time execute her move since she felt a presence from the behind.

Sakura widened her eyes in surprised to see that raven haired teen was gone in front of her and by the time she turned around, she saw those familiar onyx black eyes looking at her own.

The pink haired teen was startled as she slowly took a few steps back. She never expected that it would turned out this way. Her mind was on overdrive as she thought of ways to handle the situation. She was going into a state of panic.

Although, outside of her state of shock, was a calm Sasuke Uchiha who just stood there giving her a look that no one had seen before. There were no signs of him going to attack as in that very moment, the raven haired teen just observed the pink haired teen as if he hadn't seen her in years.

For Sakura, she also noticed something different in his eyes, they were weary and tired, of course it would be very obvious since he lost his family, been a rogue genin that was training under Orochimaru, but it was different, as if the guy had been through a lot of things in a span of decades or maybe that was only her guess.

The pink haired teen was speechless, she tried to bring out any words from her mouth, but at the same time, she was running out of things to say.

It was at this time that the raven haired teen began saying something to her, to which she didn't clearly heard. It was a faint whisper, something in the lines of "I'm sorry" or simply just mentioning her name. It made her more confused and wondered if he was really going attack him or not.

As Sasuke took the steps forward, he was then prevented once more as he then felt another headache which forced him to cringed in pain and held his head, much to the surprised of the pink haired teen, who took a few steps forward to see if he was alright.

"S-Sasuke." Sakura mentioned the teen's name, as she slowly neared him.

As for The Uchiha, the pain was taking its toll as images and mysterious memories began to flashed right before him. Seeing also a mysterious blurry vision of a man carrying a staff and hearing a cryptic sentence from him.

" ** _You'll be forever trapped inside, and you will never come out!"_**

Sasuke gritted his teeth." No!" He exclaimed to himself as he tried to resist it once more. Everything was going down for him as the darkness was pushing him back.

It was at this time that something unexpected had happened in form of a new arrival, as he felt a force immediately surrounding him and something had wrapped around him in the form a number of Ink subtances that was summoned by a certain black haired teen from behind.

"Sai!" Sakura exclaimed as she too was surprised.

From behind the Uchiha was the young root Shinobi as he finally recovered from the electric blast that he had received just awhile ago. He used all the remaining time that he had to prepare himself and waited for the right moment to strike and he knew this was the moment that he had been waiting for.

While the Uchiha was still incapacitated, he wasted no time as he made his move by drawing out his Kunai and began to charged at him, along with some ink creatures beside him. He was going full forced on this one as he seemed to have the upper hand already.

Although what he didn't expect was that the Uchiha's headaches had stopped and the teen suddenly turned his attention towards the young root with full blood red eyes of the Sharingan.

Sai widened his eyes in shocked as he felt his body slowly being paralyzed from head to to toe. Although, this time he was mentally prepared as he continued his charged as his ink creatures continued to disintigrate one by one.

As he finally reached the Uchiha, he proceeded to raised up his small blade in an attempt to strike him down, but in an unexpected twist, The ink substanced surrounding the Uchiha vanished into thin air, causing the teen to fully turned around and gave the young root a smirked.

"Too bad." Sasuke muttered before finally making his move as he thrust his blade towards the young root's shoulder completely stabbing him and sending him towards a boulder crashing on it.

Sai winced in pain as he felt the blade go through his flesh as blood began coming out from his wound thereafter. Half of his body going numb because of the pain that he had received.

Sasuke was gave a cold stare at the teen as he let his blade pinned the young root on the boulder." You always had the bad timing but I've gotta to say that it was a clever bold move." He commented with slight amused tone.

Sai could only grit annoyance." Dammit! I thought I had him." He cursed to himself. He felt disappointed and at the same time helpless. There was really no stopping this guy unless all three of them and the missing Yamato would team up together to defeat him.

He even doubted the fact that Yamato could even stop him alone. Speaking of the brown haired man, Where was he? What has happened to him? Did he got lost in the maze as well?

He could only watched helplessly and thought of the possiblity of this moment being his last.

On the other hand, Sakura had just snapped back to reality. She really had to something or else the situation would go at hand. She was disappointed at herself for not being to attentive and this time she was going to make up to her mistakes.

And as she was about to charged at him, she was prevented once more by the Uchiha himself.

"You don't have to fight me, You know what will happened if you did, Sakura."

She stopped her tracks as she was then startled and surprised that he had spoken to her for the first time. Although, there was something in his voice that continued to baffle her.

The atmosphere slowly began to calm down as there was a stoppage of fighting that happened thereafter.

* * *

 **(MEANWHILE)**

"I wouldn't do that If I were you."

Sarada took a deep breath as she immediately turned around to face a certain hooded figure in front of her. The raven haired rookie soon went into her fighting stance, she can sense the danger surrounding her. She wondered on what would this hooded figure's intentions be this time.

"You again?" Sarada replied back as she narrowed her eyes in a hostile manner towards the figure.

There was silence that followed giving the raven haired teen another chance to speak once more.

"Alright, If you're gonna try on fighting me, you might as well keep that hood on!" The Uchiha girl warned the person if anything else goes down the drain. She was already establishing her presence as early as possible.

It was also at this time that the hooded figure decided to removed his hood as a familiar face surprisingly greeted the raven haired rookie.

Sarada widened her eyes in shocked as she found herself staring at the familiar face of a person to which she seen before. "Tensai" She muttered under breath.

Tensai stood there calmly as he finally revealed his identity to the girl." You look like you've seen a ghost." He commented with a small smile.

Sarada kept her guard on as she continued the conversation." So you're the one responsible for making all of this happened!" She said, ignoring the other's comment.

There was silence in the air and in between the two, a conversation was established.

Tensai smiled as the young man then moved and sat down on a certain boulder, much to the surprised of the teen. He beckoned the raven haired Uchiha to observed the main scene happening in front of them.

Sarada had let her guard down as she did on what she was told. She turned her attention towards the main scene of the battle and saw the current aftermath.

Tensai slightly nodded." I wasn't fully responsible for this event, I'm only here to monitor on what has been controlled, but sometimes we have to think that some of the slightest actions can change things for the worst." He explained as he freely raised up his hands towards the scene of the battle.

"As you can see, there were supposed to be 5 people in there, The kid over there wasn't supposed to be impaled on that boulder." He explained, before continuing on." I can really see that because of your meddling, things would be worst than it was before." He said.

Sarada raised an eyebrow." So you mean that someone will be killed today because of us?" She clarified the other's statement.

Tensai simply nodded but gave a slight shrugged." Who knows? But once the event has been changed, it will likely happen." He said, before standing up.

"But my question is..." He trailed off as he observed the raven haired teen.

"Who are you people?" He asked." How come I've never seen you and your friend before?" He wondered." You two would always appear on the worst moments."

Sarada gulped as she was found herself in a situation where there's a possiblity that their real identities would be revealed, so she pretended to not know anything.

"I don't know what you're talking about." The Uchiha girl replied." We're merely just rookies that want to contribute in this mission." She explained.

Tensai gave a small smile." Well, rookies that could handle a heavy situation much like what happened back at the bridge?" He said." As if you two know what was going to happened next." He added.

There was another quietness that took over once more, Sarada was a bit annoyed but surprised that the man knew every word to make her admit the truth.

"If we knew what would happened then, what is it you?" She replied back." Why do you care so much about our presence?"

Tensai gave small smile as he moved closer towards the girl." Because, you two were deemed potential hindrances to the plan since from the start." He explained." I'm not the only one who's doing the job here." He added, implying that there are more people like him who has been monitoring and manipulating this events.

Sarada stopped for a moment to think as she recapped her memories, recalling that her blonde teammate claimed to have seen white hooded figures during their first mission and up until now. She's now realizing that there's something up with all of these things happening around here. Continuing her memory searching, she finally found a small revelation.

"So you mean, Lady Chiyo and Sasori weren't supposed to die in that mission." Sarada said, finally figuring out a mystery.

Tensai simply nodded." Correct, although we really had to manipulate it in some way, so that the favor would go to ours." He explained." Now that one of them has been save, I guess we have to adjust to that."

Sarada widened her eyes as she then took a brief looked at the main scene." Then that means..." She trailed off as she focused on her teenage Papa." He was supposed to be saved earlier!" She thought to herself as there was an urged growing inside, which was also telling her to finally enter the scene before it was too late.

By the time she was about to jump and make her presence known, she was then interrupted by the young man once more.

"I hope you don't get yourself killed out there."

She once again stopped her tracks, as she wss beginning to have second thoughts. If she were to interfere right now, would she only caused unexpected changes that are considered to be fatal consequences? Would here meddling be just useless since it would only cause a life or even her?

At the same time, her walkie talkie came back to life as static was then heard, followed by a familair voice.

 **"Sarada-chan! are you still there?"**

 **"Please let me know if the fighting has started!"**

 **"I'm almost there."**

The communication stopped at the same time as the raven haired teen was about to give it all up. When she heard the blonde knucklehead's voice, all of those doubts were erased, as she finally realized that no matter what happens right now, things would still be end up the same, she gave a smirk and muttered:

" _Consequence my ass!"_

Sarada then gave a short glanced at Tensai, who was still there and to the young man's surprise, she gave him a small confident smile followed by shaking her head before turning back towards the main scene. She didn't care what would happen to her, as long as she would put an end to this once and for all.

* * *

 **(Interview)**

 **"I really don't bother much about this whole consequences thing, someone's going to die out there and here I am doing nothing! What's the purpose of this mission if I don't even contribute to it? Whoever this guy is, I'm pretty sure he's been worried much about this whole thing if ever interfere."**

 **-Sarada**

* * *

 **(MEANWHILE)**

 **Location: Mindscape**

It was the one place that he always hated going to. It often smelled like a sewer and looked very much like a giant isolated prison, it was none other than his mindscape. The place where the Kyuubi No Youko was currently sealed and residing and waiting for any chance to come out.

The atmosphere was tense inside as the Kyuubi began taunting the blonde, tempting him to use his power in order to kill the Uchiha.

 **"This is our chance Naruto."**

 **"Let's show him what we're like when we combine our powers together!"**

The fox said as he began to physically manifest in the form of crimson bubbles that build up to form a giant head of him.

" **You've waited so long to finally face him and yet still you find yourself on the brink of being defeated once again"**

 **"You're weak!"**

The blonde stood there, in front of the cage, where the big fox himself resided, ignoring the tempting words the tailed beast as he fought to keep his sanity in check too." You stay away from this furball!" He exclaimed, showing no fear but calm as he turned around to walked away from the scene.

There were crimson bubbles surrounding the blonde as he decided to walked away from the fox to avoid any temptation. Yet he still received a more number of taunts and words from the fox.

 **"Get back here Naruto!"**

 **"You needed my power!"**

 **"Without me you're nothing, Kit!"**

The Kyuubi was getting furious as seconds passed by. He seemed to be struggling to control the teenage blonde this time and he doesn't even know how the heck was this happening. He seemed to be a different person than the last time he saw him back at the bridge.

The last few moments of him walking away, the big crimson fox saw what appears to be an outline of a taller person, walking alongside the Uzumaki, He seemed to have the same body structure as the kit but more taller and share same blonde hair as him but taller, he had this long white coat with orange fiery designs and there was a simple Kanji symbol of "Seventh" imbedded on the middle of the cape.

The Kyuubi himself was also confused, this was the first time he had seen that person in this mindscape. He thought of every explanations that he could think of but still he can't explained on what was happening in front of him. There is a higher possibility that he may never know that mystery person.

The only question that was circulating around him was that:

"Who was that person?"

* * *

 **(FACE OFF)**

Naruto closed his eyes as he kept walking away from the place, a little later his world began to change and he found himself back on the real world as the light of the sun greeted him first.

The blonde still laid on the ground, beaten by the Uchiha prior ago, Although, he could feel himself recovering fast as he noticed a little hint of crimson Chakra surrounding him. He gave a small smirked as he didn't expected the fox would lend a helping hand this time.

" _What made you so generous?"_ Naruto thought to himself as he slowly stood up grabbing his own Kunai on the ground.

Now fully recovered, He focused his eyes on the Uchiha once again, as this time he was ready for another round of fighting. He will never give up no matter what as he charged without any second thoughts.

This was also noticed by a very worried Sakura, who tried to stopped the blonde from continuing on, although she was already too late to prevent him for getting another beating.

"Naruto, Please stop!"

With the rest of Team Kakashi, incapacitated, Sasuke stood in triumph as he stabbed Sai on the shoulder, pinning him against a giant boulder. The Uchiha gave an emotionless stare at the young root, reminding him on not to interfere with other people's business once again.

"Sasuke!"

Then again, the familiar voice of his former blonde teammate exclaimed as he then turned around only to meet the teen charging towards him once more with a kunai on his hand. The same blonde, who he had tried to penetrate the mindscape in hopes of seeing the Kyuubi in person but was unable to due to unexplainable reasons.

Sasuke gave an arrogant smirked." It's no use, He's can't even control his own balance." He thought as he proceeded to removed his blade, which was stuck from Sai's shoulder.

He then proceeded to make his next move by swaying the blade towards the charging blonde in hopes slicing him in half, although his efforts were suddenly interrupted by something he didn't expected.

The world around him slowed down in motion as he felt something headed straight for him, He was just about to activate his Sharingan when suddenly he felt someone grabbed his hand from behind, preventing him from slashing Naruto, who also stopped his tracks, and when he turned to face that certain someone, he widened his eyes in surprised to see the raven haired rookie, Sarada Inoue in front of him with a looked that felt like a knife in the heart.

He was distracted for awhile as another presence had unexpectedly entered the scene, to which he also felt. The second that he was about to turned around, He saw what appears to be small blue ball of energy, which appeared from thin air and flying straight towards him with incredible speed.

The last thing he saw before being sent away was a flash of yellow lightning.

 **"BOOOM"**

Everyone was startled and shocked of what had happened just now. The sudden appearance of the rookie, Sarada started it all by appearing beside of the Uchiha in a blinked of an eye as she grabbed his arm to prevent him from slicing Naruto in half.

It was also at the same time that a new but familiar presence arrived at the scene in the form of a certain blonde rookie, who just couldn't wait to get there in time and help the rest.

Boruto stood on top of a debris as he finally arrived after a long run with the maze. How he was so glad of getting out of the endless hallways and corridors. By the time, he was on his way to the exit, he immediately saw what was happening and he decided to take action by using his Vanishing Rasengan once more to temporarly take down his young master.

"I'm sorry that I had to do this, Uncle Sasuke." He muttered to himself as he observed what was happening around him, also successfully receiving reactions from the rest.

"Rookie!?" Naruto was the first one to react as surprised and confusion took over him. He was glad that his blonde counterpart was alright but he was confused because of the ball lf energy that hit Sasuke just now. He hadn"t seen that kind of technique before, but it somehow resembled the Rasengan.

As for Sakura, she was more focused on the Rookie, Sarada Inoue, as all of her concerns regarding the raven haired teen had been cleared. She was glad that she was alright but how did she managed to get out of the maze by herself?

Sai was surprised as much as the others, it was indeed another same scenario happening once more as these two rookies had appeared out of nowhere to save the day. He was starting to realized the negative effects of underestimating someone.

He was really sorry for it now.

For the meantime, Boruto and Sarada stood as they calmly observed the Uchiha, who crashed landed on a boulder. Both of them had that feeling that things were about to get escalated from now on.

There was silence in the air as both of them watched the Uchiha as he slowly recovered from the crash. Unbeknowst to the two, he had a smile and a small tear fell from one of his eyes.

He really can't believed that they were here!

Boruto and Sarada waited as they positioned themselves into their fighting stance. Both also turned their heads to Naruto and Sakura, who were still in shock mode.

 _"Go somewhere safe!"_

 _"Don't worry, we'll handle this!"_

They both warned their respective young parents, before turning their attention back towards the main scene.

As for Sasuke, He wasn't angry about what happened just now, getting hit in the face by some kind of Rasengan was the only thing new that happened to him once and awhile. If his not mistaken, the blonde person in front of him had the guts to performed it right in front of his face literally. The raven haired one had that grabbed his arm, had that fierce look in her eyes, which kind of reminded him of a certain person.

It was all coming back to him right now, the mysterious memories and flashes of dreams, it mean't something more and these two people in front of him could know the answers.

A small smirked slipped on his lips as the Uchiha finally recovered. He stood there thinking about the possibility of engaging these two on a battle right now. He wanted to see how strong they were or how strong they've gotten.

He'd been waiting for a worthy and strong opponent for a long time and these two could possibly be the ones so far.

"I never really thought that this day would come." Sasuke commented as he adjusted his blade." I wish I could've known it earlier, but showing it to me as a suprise is fine with me."

Boruto and Sarada paid no heed to the Uchiha's statements. They were ready for another face off once more as they kept their fighting stances. The only strange thing that they noticed was that their opponent seemed to have a different aura now. It seemed so familiar yet they couldn't figured it out. Although, both noticed an outline of another taller person alongside the Uchiha.

As for the two rookies, they found themselves in a very familiar situation.

"Is it me or are we going to have an unexpected sparring session with Uncle Sasuke?" Boruto commented as he recalled the many times that he had engaged his master on a session.

Sarada could only sigh." Looks like a full blown fight to me knucklehead." She replied back with slight sarcastic tone of voice.

Boruto gave a small chuckle. He knew he was in trouble for being late, although he was going to make it up for it this time. He gripped his kunai tight as he focus his eyes on the opponent.

Both of the two knew that this was no ordinary opponent. It was a young Sasuke Uchiha, former Shinobi of the leaf, and the lone of survivor of the Uchiha massacre.

As for Sasuke, The teen proceeded to walked slowly towards the two, gripping his blade as he was ready to go full on out towards them. The excitement was there once more as he activated his Sharingan and at the same time, his own world began to change back amd forth as the mysterious memories began to flash in front of his eyes once more.

The last thing he saw in those memories was that of two kids that eerily looked like the two newcomers, who seemed to be grown up versions of them. As moments passed by, an unexpected feeling of Deja vu overwhelmed him.

A very familiar scene indeed.

 **(CHAPTER END)**

* * *

 **(Interview)**

 **"We really found ourselves in a situation that was pretty much bound to happen, I've been having that kind of expectation since from the start."**

 **-Sarada**

 **"I never really thought that I would have to face a very young Uncle Sasuke, with two complete arms! It's weird and mind blowing at the same time!"**

 **-Boruto**

* * *

 **AN: Thank you for reading the Chapter:)**

 **Extra Scene:**

 **The corridors of these place were eerily quiet. Showtaro always hated this type of atmosphere in every similar place that he went to. Now thrust with a new task of escorting his still weakened Otsutsuki friend, things could get more worst as the feeling of being watched was always there. They were now heading to the exit, where the rest were located, as fast as they can, they still have the task to assists the rookies and the rest of Team 7, especially for Showtaro who also cared for the teens' safety.**

 **What was to expect besides this?**

 **Although unbeknowst to them a certain silver haired young woman, was actually observing them from certain spot with a wide sadistic grin on her face.**

 **"Oops, Looks like I broke another promise, Tensai-kun."**


	66. Arc 3 Phase 2: Face Off Part 2

**I don't own Naruto. Mr Kishimoto Does.**

 **Author's note: Hey there Readers!, Welcome to Arc 3 Phase 2. I Hope you guys enjoy! I would also like to thank you guys for the Reviews. Favorites, and follows :)**

 **Take note: Welcome back to another chapter once again, this chapter will tackle more of Kaiga and Showtaro as they find their way out of the hideout towards the place wher** **e the current Team 7 are.**

 **Expect some grammar and spelling mistakes along the way.**

 **Thank you for Understanding :)**

 **P.S**

 **I also have a new story called "Resurrection" The story is about the dead mysteriously coming back to life years after the war. Feel free to check out the story:)**

* * *

 **Arc 3: Phase 2**

 **Chapter 30: Face Off Part 2**

It felt like ages had past since those two meddling girls left him, He was still strapped on the chair like he was the kidnapped victim. More than that, he could still feel the pain in his own balls inflicted by none other than that raven haired girl character, Sarada.

The silver haired man cringed in pain as he began to move himself trying to drew out a small sharp object from his back pocket which was revealed to be a small knife. He then used that knife, with a little dose of his chakra, cutting the ropes which bind him, in one swoop.

Although again, He cut those ropes were sheer emotion not realizing that they were made from the young root's ink summons which mean't that the ink substances reacted violently as it suddenly caused a little mini explosions which caused the man to be sent on to the ground.

Kabuto cringed once more because of the multiple aches in his body. It felt as if his body was subjected to a long enduring acupuncture session. It was really annoying and he was beginning to wonder on why he had to go through all of this. He hasn't done anything wrong to deserve this!

"I really hate this!" Kabuto muttered to himself as he slowly recovered and began to crawl towards the door instead.

Along the way, thoughts were beginning to entertain his mind in order to reduced the attention to the aches that he was feeling right now.

He wondered on what had happened to the rest of the teens that confronted him just now. He was also confident that they somehow had been lost in the inner areas and that they were going to be trapped there forever. Although, that was only his imagination and hopes since he just recalled that he gave clues which will possibly direct them to the Uchiha's true location.

Another one bites the dust, the silver haired man was often on the losing side nowadays. He just can't figured it out the reason why. He just got kicked in the nuts two major times, and even got verbally bashed by two girls. Was there more in store him after he gets out of this empty and quiet room?

In fact he really needed to catch up, there was also a loud explosion and a small tremor that he had felt awhile ago. Could that be Sasuke being triggered once more? If that is true, then looks like the others had finally found him.

These thoughts only gave him more motivation as he slightly got himself up from the ground. His emotions were shifting as he had finally found a new purpose of catching up and doing his own job properly. His mind directed to the supposed events happening right now as he grabbed the door knob.

He smirked." Something interesting must be going on right now." Kabuto commented as he finally opened the door.

He was still slightly bent and limping because of the aches in his body but he already had his confidence beside him. By the time he opened the door, he was suddenly greeted by something unexpected, as soon as he saw the outside premise of the corridors he was then greeted by a certain mysterious sliver haired woman to which he hadn't seen before.

She was donning a white outfit and cloak and a sadistic grin in her face.

Kabuto's whole body froze as he stared in surprised at the young woman." Who are you supposed to be?" He let out a question, although he received no response from her.

The silver haired young woman just gave another grin as she finally responded." Oh, Just another of your nightmares" She said with a gleeful smile and a sarcastic tone of voice.

For a few moments, Kabuto was very much bewildered and confused, before realizing that this young woman was somehow dangerous. His first instinct was to summon his chakra blade but he was unable to do it since it was very much too late.

The last thing he saw was that the young woman had suddenly grabbed his face in whole and blackness took over right after, leaving him into an unknown fate.

* * *

 **(THE DUCK AND THE OTSUTSUKI)**

It was the one of the biggest explosions that he had encountered in years. It was probably one of them that could possibly roast him overall. A big sigh of relief came through Showtaro as the duck took all the available time to rest and conserved energy before heading back on track.

The quietness of the whole area immediately returned once again after the recent explosion at the old chamber and also after the blonde rookie had left to assist the rest of the team at the main field. It was at that same time the blonde dropped something on the ground when took off and it was revealed to be that of a certain scroll which left the two baffled.

Showtaro was the first one to examined the scroll and even he couldn't even understand its mechanics. He described the scroll as somewhat futuristic-looking, with modern-like art designs that acted as the outside cover of the scroll. It was pretty much bigger than any scroll that he recently had ever seen and it was best to not opened it whatsoever.

Kaiga, on the other hand, had just recovered, he could stand and finally walk but there were still signs of injuries so as a result he was slightly limping all the way throughout the journey.

The two were now on their journey towards the place where the rest of the team were located. They had their own lead to the place in the form of the blonde rookie's chakra trails to which the Otsutsuki can actually sense. For the meantime, they were in good hands and the only the problem that they had was that they were racing against time.

The journey shortly began once they have recovered and gathered themselves up. The dim-litted corridors still retained its gloomy atmosphere to which the two really didn't bothered too much. All the things in their minds were directly focus on getting the heck out of this place.

Along the way, a conversation was formed between the two, It's been quite so long since they've talked and this is the only available time that they can have a conversation, even though it was only for a brief time.

"Sorry, I got you into this mess." Kaiga was the first one to speak. He didn't have the time to apologized properly so now was the time.

Showtaro could only sigh and shook his head." The question is, how do you get yourself into this mess?" He rephrase the Otsutsuki's original question.

There was a brief moment of quietness that befell the latter before giving out a little chuckle." Oh come on Showtaro, you know how I get myself into this kinds of situations." He replied back.

Showtaro gave a look." You really should take be careful on who you're dealing with." He said before continuing." You don't want to end up being imprisoned again in another chamber." He added, referring to the larger forces that were responsible for the troubles.

"Well, that's what you get when you want to expose the corruption in the system." Kaiga explained." Those guys can't catch a break on what they're doing." He added." Also the fact that they made numerous attempts to eliminate me and still I'm here."

Showtaro gave a small smile." Of course, you're an Otsutsuki, your race can't be killed that easily." He said, before staring at the blank space." I'm still wondering on how did I managed to get myself out of that explosion." He commented, before realizing one certain blonde rookie, who was responsible for preventing that possibility of him getting turned into barbeque satey.

"I think you have to thank your blonde friend for that." Kaiga respnded referring to the blonde rookie.

There was a brief of moment of quietness from Showtaro." You're right, the kid almost risked his life to save us." He said, before continuing." It's pretty rare for a human to have that kind of heart in a world filled with greed." He added.

It was kind of a realization for the duck, all throughout his life he had trust issues with the people in the human world. As a inside Journalist, he saw how forces had corrupted them causing to their turn their backs at each other resulting in wars and conflict. He never really had a contact with an actual human before. He had to admit that this was the first time he had engaged and befriended their kind in the form of Boruto and Sarada.

When Miyuki informed him regarding the two, He had his doubts and he was very cautious at first. Although, as time passed by he was beginning to have a connection with them, Somehow, it came into his mind that not all of Humans were that kind of people. He can see that he was slowly starting to trust the two more as time continued. Now, He unexpectedly found himself worrying about the two even more.

He wasn't like this before.

"Is something wrong Showtaro?" The voice Kaiga interrupted his thoughts and brought him back.

Showtaro quickly shook his head." Uhmm I'm fine, It's nothing serious, I was just wondering if Boruto has finally managed to catch up and reached the place." He explained as he speeded up the journey a little bit.

"Oh I see." Kaiga nodded in understanding." He's a special kid to be honest." He said, before continuing." Although, there was something strange about him." He added, causing the duck to give him a curious look.

"What do you mean strange?" A curious Showtaro asked.

Kaiga took a deep breath as he continued." During that explosion, I managed to find a good look on what had transpired." He said aa he closed his eyes trying to remember on what he had witnessed.

In his perspective, He saw what appears to be strange yet familiar tattoo markings suddenly appearing on the blonde rookie's arm all the way up into his right hand to which he tried to prevent the force of the explosion by absorbing it. It was all to familiar to him, he thought he had seen this before.

"The Markings on his arms and his hands and that power to absorb any energy, If I can recall correctly, you can only have those things once you kill an Otsutsuki." Kaiga explained, giving the duck a look." Tell me Showtaro, Did that kid killed an Otsutsuki?" He seriously asked.

Showtaro kept quiet as he too could only stare at the other. He too was confused." How should I know?" He replied back." I haven't got to really know him yet and plus with him having those abilities because he killed one of your kind seemed to new to me overall." He added.

Kaiga simply nodded" I see, It's just that I noticed something different about him when I looked into his eyes, there's something in it that I have seen before." He explained.

Showtaro raised an eyebrow." Wait, so your telling me that the kid has some kind of eye ability which belonged to your race?" He tried to clarify.

Kaiga simply shook his head." We may never know, but it's best that we try to know more about it." He replied.

It was definitely somehow true, when Showtaro first met the blonde rookie he could tell that there was something about the kid to which he couldn't figured it out. Surely, he had met a lot of characters to which he considered as heroes of their generation but when it comes to this kid, he was different. Something more tragic yet amazing.

Was there something regarding them that Miyuki is not telling him about?

Things were pretty much interesting and as they continued on the journey, Showtaro can't help but get distracted of the place's gloomy and suspicious atmosphere.

The corridors of these place were eerily quiet. He always hated this type of atmosphere in every similar place that he went to. Now thrust with a new task of escorting his still weakened Otsutsuki friend, things could get more worst as the feeling of being watched was always there. They were now heading to the exit, where the rest were located, as fast as they can, they still have the task to assists the rookies and the rest of Team 7, especially for Showtaro who also cared for the two teens' safety.

What was to expect besides this?

Although unbeknowst to them a certain silver haired young woman, was actually observing them from certain spot with a wide sadistic grin on her face.

* * *

 **(Interview)**

 **"The only expectations that we had was that we either get out of this place or get ambushed by some crazy knife wielding person."**

 **-Showtaro**

 **"I'm really not sure on whatever is going on right now, but It would be best if the rest of the journey will ve uneventful."**

 **-Kaiga**

* * *

 **(A LOST SOUL)**

It was pretty much an eventful day at least for the boy, Mitsue. The kid had been used to the quiet and lonely story of the hideout. It had been long time as he waited for the old story to end until one day when a teen with a mission, named Sai arrived at the hideout looking for someone. He first met the guy during a quiet lunch break at the small cafeteria, although after that they went their separate ways, with the teen leaving for his mysterious mission.

It was only hours after that a series of loud noises which seemed to be explosions from a part of the hideout were heard. It was followed by a series of small tremors which really gave everyone the real panic. The tremors didn't stop until minutes passed and most of the captives or the people residing in the hideout were overwhelm by the chaos created.

It was then that someone had shouted that eastern area of the hideout had been destroyed, creating a huge opening to which acted as an exit for those who are longing for an immediate escape from this place.

" ** _Now's our chance!"_**

 ** _"Finally! We're free from this hellish placed!"_**

 ** _"Freedom!_** "

A big number of the prisoners and former experiments were yelling all throughout the corridors as they hurried themselves towards eastern side of the hideout. They were tasting freedom for the first time and ultimately did. The sudden stampede and panic forced the boy to come along with them.

Most of the corridors in the eastern side were destroyed by the small but powerful tremor. It only gave the rest of the people an easier time to navigate the maze and in just a few minutes they finally reached their destination.

The light of the sun greeted them for the first time in years. Many were rejoicing as they headed towards the new exit, they warmly embraced the new world in front of them as they never dared to look back once more. All those years of being a captive for a lone snake man was nothing but only a memory from now on.

Mitsue stood as he watched the rest of the people, in different ages take their leave and escaped. It didn't took long enough as the place immediately became silent right after that, leaving boy only in sight.

Everything was quiet from that point on, the boy was shocked and surprised. In that matter of moments, the long captive years in the hideout was now over, he was now a free person, yet he didn't went along with the rest of people.

Was there something holding him back?

Thoughts were now clouding the boy's mind. To be honest, he didn't knew where to go, he knew that he had a family somewhere but the only problem was that he can't even remember the place where they used to live. Heck! He can't even remember their faces! Their names... Looks like his brain was a lost cause so far.

Then something came up to him at the last minute.

"Sasuke-san!"

"Sai-san!"

These two names popped up inside his mind. There's still a reason on why he should not leave this place yet. He was thinking that maybe these two individuals could help him in some way. With his Uchiha friend, he could possibly join him if they ever leave this place altogether. With the other black haired teen, Sai could possibly help him find a home since he was donning a familiar village headband, maybe he could take him to that village which could act as his temporary home.

These were the possibilities that could happen. The only thing that he needed to do now is search for the two of them in this huge hideout. He knew he was going to be alone this time, but he didn't care much overall.

Right now he was just going to wander off like a lost soul.

* * *

 **(PLAYFUL BANTER)**

A wide grin slipped across her face once she saw the two traversing through the corridors of the ancient ruins. Amidst the series of quakes, which originated from two different blast that destroyed large parts of the hideouts, the young woman couldn't contain her excitement beause much was happening around her that she wanted to be a part of it or at least get involved in.

She still remembered that promised to never interfere in this very event but still she couldn't keep her urges in check. She was always this way right from the start.

A sassy sadistic young woman with a penchant of breaking promises, at least that what the members of the organization view her to be. To be in fact, she saw herself as more than what they described her to be. Simply, she was just in for the fun.

The moment when she said that she was going to go somewhere else was only a half-truth. She didn't technically left immediately but she chose to stay in the shadows, watching the events unfold. What was she supposed to do when she finished all her task? Surely, she wanted to be in a place where she could do all her wants, but seeing This specific event gave her the interest to stick around.

A few days prior there was a report from one of the members that a trio of newcomers were somehow wrecking havoc or to simply put that they were altering the events that had been previously manipulated. One such a event involving the kidnapped Kazekage and the human mercenary group known as the Akatsuki. There were some things that were unexpectedly change such as the survival of an Akatsuki member, who was expected to be killed, and even voluntary surrendering to the Shinobi.

This report made it enough interesting for her to take a peek on what was exactly going on for herself. She even went far as to trying to get at least a close encounter with them and she didn't expect that they would be that strong, although it gave her more excitement and a reason to stay.

She still had that hunger for blood since the war, although it had toned down over the years. She was more of a playful type of person.

The ancient ruins, which had been turned into a hideout, was bigger than she had expected. The main event which was currently taking place on the north of the place was her go to destination but seeing that Tensai was there already monitoring, she had no choice but to explore the inner areas and found her first victim in the form of the silver haired glasses man known as Kabuto.

It was a quick work as she immediately incapacitate the man, putting him under her influence and placing his mind under her control so that he can do whatever she tells him to do. Before that, she had heard that this man was very much instrumental to the snake man's plans, which means this man was fully trusted. She also figured out that he had a very cocky and prideful attitude when she was observing him from the shadows.

 _"So much for being a cocky bastard four eyes?"_ Yuko thought to herself.

Not too long, she finally found her second victims in the form of the Duck and his Otsutsuki friend, who were traversing the hideout en route to the north where the main event was currently happening.

"Perfect!" She thought to herself with a devious smirked on her face as she watched them from the shadows.

She searched through her thoughts once more. How was she gonna execute her playful plan? In which way possible? What will be it like? Are there gonna be casualties? Of course there will be, but how would her plan play like?

Moments later, another wide grin swept across her lips. She finally figured out on what to do next, so far her she's going to try her best on not to get someone killed tonight unless they are a nuisance, if there ever will be murdered today, she''ll automatically be in trouble but who cares.

This was going to be fun indeed.

* * *

 **(ANOTHER ENCOUNTER)**

It felt like centuries as the duck and the Otsutsuki traversed the through the mazes of the inner areas. They seemed have to be travelling for hours now and still they can't find any source of the light or supposed way out caused by the other explosion to what they have heard from Boruto's conversation with Sarada via the walkie talkie.

It had given them the idea that the battle seemed to have finally started and it give the signal for the rookie blonde to head to the place of event first leaving them in the hideout to recover. Now they were now on their way, catching up as fast as they can and while hurrying up, there was a last opportunity for another conversation to be established.

As they make their way through, they also passed the large number of rooms from both of their sides. Most of the rooms were empty or seemed rather abandoned but somehow they contained tragic memories or negative energy.

It didn't took long enough for them to realized that these rooms were used to house the dying victims of the snakeman's experiments, their spirits were still trapped behind those locked doors. Their voices could still be heard asking for help whoever passed by.

Hailing from the Pure Land himself, Showtaro couldn't help but cringed as he passed by these doors. As much as he wanted to help the spirits trapped, he can't do much since they were in a hurry. It was also wasn't his job to set them free since the council had a division for that and yet they always had been distracted by other incidents resulting the duck to be left with no choice often.

"Is something wrong Showtaro?" He was asked his Otsutsuki friend.

Showtaro simply shook his head." Don't worry, I'm alright, by the time this is all over, I'm going to have to report this to the division, so that they may handle these lost souls." He explained beckoning his friend to observed the locked doors they were passing through.

"I see what you mean." Kaiga simply agreed." But don't you think most of those guys are corrupt?" He asked.

Showtaro simply nodded." Yeah, but some of them still had integrity and I personally knew the good ones." He explained, he was referring to the once competent Soul division of the council, the division itself was responsible for the rescue of lost souls which were still wandering the earth after their deaths.

Incidents involving cases of Soul Trafficking had been on the rise and the efforts of the Soul Division didn't any effect since most of the members there are also involved in these illegal activities as well.

"So much for the Pure Land being an actual heaven." Kaiga commented." That place is slowly turning into a mess." He added.

Showtaro gave a small chuckle." At least in your own world, your people often get to become a harvester of fruit trees." He replied.

Kaiga chuckled." Yeah, that's true." He said, before continuing." My race is obsessed with trees and fruits." He added. He to himself had promised that he would never ever become a part of his clan's toxic culture. He knew that most of them were up to no good, and even the corrupt practice had reached up to the higher levels of the clan's system.

Both Showtaro and Kaiga knew that it was always a risk on trusting their own worlds' governing bodies. The atrocities that these governing bodies had committed throughout the years made them realized that they can't be trusted.

As for now, they were going to let it be as they hurried up towards their destination, not knowing they were heading to a playful trap set by a familiar foe.

* * *

 **(MEANWHILE)**

His journey continued.

Mitsue headed towards north, where raven haired teen was located. His quarters were stationed up north and the boy hoped that the Uchiha was still there. It was in the early afternoon and he often expected that the older guy would be in his usual afternoon nap.

Of course, an early alarm clock wouldn't be that bad for the Uchiha.

The boy already had done that before of waking the Uchiha numerous times since they became friends.

He continued his journey by walking faster, he wanted to reached his destination earlier. He had already been enough of living in this place. He just wanted to leave and go home, yet he can't remember the place where he lived before, the faces of his parents to which he too can't even remember.

Was there something wrong?

Why He can't remember them?

Although, He knew every faces of the people here in this hideout and even before the Uchiha teen came here.

Thoughts were finally taking a toll inside the boy's mind. He shook his head and got himself together once more as he focused on his journey.

Traversing in different directions, he automatically knew where to head off to. It was like he had been living in this place for a long time now, which was very surprising for a 10 year old boy like him.

It didn't took long and after awhile had passed, he was finally nearing the place. He had apparently taken the shortcut hence the fact that he had arrived at the area earlier than expected.

The long walk had finally stop into a halt as the boy found himself staring at a massive opening from a few distances away. It looked as if something had changed from the area. The last time he had been there, it was a very dark place, yet right now an exit has appeared accompanied by bright light at the every end and he can also see multiple figures of certain individuals at that place.

It seemed that there was a commotion going on.

Curiousity was slowly taking over him and he immediately started heading towards the newly created exit. He took the first steps and as he neared his destination, his eye caught something out of the blue.

In front of him, there was a figure of a man standing in the middle of the pathway, blocking the newly created exit. His raised both of his eyebrows in confusion as he continued walking towards that certain figure.

As moments passed by, he finally reached the said figure and he widened his eyes to see a familiar silver haired man.

"Kabuto-san?" Mitsue muttered under his breath as he decided to investigate further.

Apparently, the man was just standing there as if he was in a trance. His head was looking down and there was a creepy silent vibe radiating all over him. Yet, he wasn't moving or doing anything.

The boy even tried to poke at the man and he didn't reacted. It brough more confusion and triggered questions inside his mind." What was he doing all the way here?" He thought to himself.

He continued to observed the man, he was beginning to think that he wouldn't be that much of a threat since he was just standing there. A few moments later, his original goal immediately returned back when he moved his attention towards the exit to see the rest of the others.

The boy briefly glanced at the silver haired man before deciding to go pass by him and head to the exit. Although, there was something that he wasn't expecting to happen.

By the time he took his first steps, the man suddenly moved to where he was going and blocked his path. At the same time, the boy was startled.

"Huh?" Mitsue widened his eyes in surprised. He didn't expect that would happened. Was this man really aware?

He then tried to moved to another direction and yet again, the man went with him at the same time and blocked his path.

This was now getting weirder and creepier. For a few seconds the two began a game of crab. The boy tried as best he could to get passed him but the other won't stop blocking his path. This was getting really annoying and looks like he had no choice but to force his way through which means he would have to push or tackle the man to passed him.

Although, when he was about to do that, the man suddenly drew out a kunai, which was filled with glowing chakra that would easily penetrate the skin, and attempted to hit him. Although, the boy managed to evade the attack and stumbled upon backwards falling to the ground.

Mitsue slightly cringed as his butt was the first one to touch the ground. However, it was still not over as by the time he opened his eyes, the silver haired man continued to charged at him.

The moment he saw the man jumping towards him to strike again and the blade directly heading towards him, he immediately scrammed and made a run for it leaving the man to strike the ground instead.

"Oh crap!" Mitsue exclaimed as he found himself running away from the creepy silver haired man who was now chasing him.

What did he gotten himself into?

* * *

 **(MEANWHILE)**

The boy was an unexpected newcomer to her playful plan.

It was a surprised at least for her. She hadn't seen this kid before or maybe he was just passing by the area. He doesn't looked like a threat but he somehow knew the four eyed silver haired loser. Her original plan was to have the brainwashed man wait for the duck and the Otsutsuki, although all that had been changed when the boy arrived.

It could also hinder her plan and she needed to act in order to preserved the way it is or maybe she could just wait and keep watch thus maybe something interesting will happen later on.

* * *

 **(A LITTLE LATER ON)**

It was an uneventful journey for the duck and Otsutsuki.

It only took less than twenty minutes for them to finally reached the northern area of the hideout where the rookie's chakra trail ended. It was here that they can finally see what appears to be a lone pathway which directly leads to the final exit by the time they turn left at the end.

"Looks like the kid's chakra trail ends right over there." Kaiga was the first one to speak as he pointed towarda the end.

"Good! At least we are finally here." Showtaro said, before continuing on." Plus, We don't have that much time, Let's go!" He added, beckoning the other to hurry up.

Kaiga simply nodded, he was now trying to gather himself up once more. He knew that he will be finally be involve in a fight so he had to come up ways to survived or how he would be dealing this upcoming moment.

He was an Otsutsuki, and He is representing his clan wherever place he goes to. No matter what happens right now, it's still a part of his obligation or duty to show people the right pride of his clan. His clan used to be a peaceful and very-well respected race that fell from grace when the corruption reached the highest of its system.

He was going to show the power and abilities of his clan, yet at the same time, he doesn't even know the basics of how to fight or even used his own fighting abilities.

* * *

 **(Interview)**

 **"Then again, I really assure you guys that Kaiga is nowhere near the bad side of his clan, He is just one of the victims of being judge."**

 **-Showtaro**

 **"I wasn't raised or brought up on the violent side of the clan, my whole family was against that kind of life. The Conquering worlds part."**

 **-Kaiga**

* * *

Showtaro on the other hand was having the same thoughts as well. In his own view, how can he contribute to the ongoing battle? He was just a small talking duck with no fighting capabilities or maybe he could start being a problem or a distraction for the opposing side like what he did before with Yamato, the kids' sensei.

As they make their way towards the last path way, there was a sudden yell of a boy which they immediately heard followed by seeing a couple of shadows materializing at the end point. Moments later, a boy emerged from the end point, whom seemed to be running away from someone or something.

The two stopped their tracks immediately when they saw the boy and moments later, a familiar silver haired man to Showtaro's eyes." Wait isn't that...?" Showtaro trailed off when saw the man's face. The familiar glasses.

"Nevermind just run!" He exclaimed.

"Run for what?" Kaiga asked. He was confused to what the duck was saying. Although by the time he focused his attention towards the boy and the man, who was wielding a chakra blade, he finally understood what the duck mean't.

"Oh shit!" He exclaimed and swore for the first time. He immediately changed his mind as he began to run back along with the duck, who was already flying ahead of him.

Right now, the boy, the duck, and the Otsutsuki found themselves running from a brainwashed silver haired man, who was maniacally swaying the blade in nearing them.

"Can someone please tell me what the heck is going on!?" Showtaro exclaimed, he was more frustrated than being afraid.

Kaiga was quick to reply." How should I know? I was going to ask you the same question!" He exclaimed back, while also running.

It was at the same time that both of them turned their heads towards the boy, who was behind them desperately running from the man. He had a slight guilty face when he noticed their suspicious faces. Faces that he hadn't seen before, a weird talking duck and a guy who was wearing this weird tattered wardrobe and has big white eyes.

Was he blind?

As he was about to open his mouth, something unexpected prevented him from doing so as he suddenly tripped on a rocky part of the ground causing him to fall.

Showtaro and Kaiga both stopped their tracks." Kid!" Both of them exclaimed as they turned their attention towards him.

At the same time, the silver haired man finally caught up to the kid and quickly grabbed him by the back collar of his shirt, dragging him towards himself as he was going to waste time and will immediately slit the boy's throat. Although that never come into fruition as when he was about to do it, he was suddenly tackled by Showtaro himself, who directly flew towards him in a full speed giving him a blow to the face.

He immediately had let go of the boy as he found himself being sent to the ground.

Showtaro cringed for a bit as he felt dizzy because of the impact that he took by tackling the man on the face. He too landed on the ground and was still recovering.

* * *

 **(Interview)**

 **"This has to be the most violent move I ever done for the first time, Although I agree, it was a very worthy move (Chuckles)"**

 **-Showtaro**

* * *

The conflict continued again as the man immediately recovered, faster than Showtaro, who grabbed the chakra blade and quickly got up from the ground. The brainwashed man continued his goal as he headed towards the boy and Otsutsuki.

The atmosphere around huge corridor was tense, Showtaro's attacked earlier had a short-lived effect. Kaiga found himself facing the silver haired man all by himself.

"Get behind me kid!" He quickly told the boy to stay away as far as he can. On the other hand, the boy simply nodded as he back himself towards a corner where the silver haired man had no chance of noticing him.

It was all him and the man right now, Kaiga knew where he was going to and he thought that it would be best to defend himself right now as his first battle in his life immediately began in less than ten seconds.

The brainwashed Kabuto wasted no time as he quicky charged towards the defenseless and weaponless Otsutsuki, who had nothing but only his bare hands and a few knowledge of basic combat.

It seemed one-sided as of now, as the silver haired man was more faster and quick as he immediately reached the Otsutsuki in less than seconds, he raised up his chakra blade so that he can strike the him on the face but in an unexpected twist the guy just simply blocked his attack by grabbing his right arm pushing it into another direction.

It was kind of a surprised for everyone in the corridor especially the one who was all behind this chaos.

Mitsue was surprised to see the guy blocked the attack since to him, the silver haired man's strike was already very quick for him. On the other hand, Showtaro had the same reaction as the boy but he was more observant and had noticed something different yet familiar on his friend's eyes.

"Isn't that the..." Showtaro trailed off as the duck observed further.

Right on the Otsutsuki's eyes was a skill that every one from his own race had. It was a natural eye ability that run through his clan's blood. There were many of them, but Kaiga had an eye with a ripple pattern that spreads all over.

It was simply known as the Rinnegan.

As for Kaiga, he himself didn't know what had transpired, he just felt this incredible adrenaline rush inside of him and anticipated the attack as if he knew what would happen next.

It wasn't over as the silver haired man retaliated back with another strike and another but the guy just simply avoided as if he had more faster reflexes than him. After his second and third attacks, Kaiga responded with a simple kick on the man's crotch, which caused him to groan in pain but still had that emotionless brainwashed face.

Showtaro and Mitsue's reactions were priceless, they hadn't expected this kind of thing to happen. Let alone Kaiga showing off some hand to hand combat skills which was very unexpected for a person like him even though he was an Otsutsuki himself.

As Showtaro finally recovered." Guys! Let's go!" He called up the two, beckoning them to follow him back towards the main exit.

As the brainwashed Kabuto was still incapacitated, it finally opened the opportunity for the trio to escape and immediately they did, leaving the area as fast they can.

* * *

 **(MEANWHILE)**

From behind the shadows, Yuko stood there with a mixed of frustration and surprise. She didn't expect this to happen, let alone that these three idiots could actually defend themselves.

Thoughts were circling around her mind, wondering if the plan really was successful, yet she was seeing it in a different outcome. An outcome which didn't went to her favor. Where was the fun? She was supposed to be having fun toying with them, How could she let that moment slipped?

However, this wasn't the end, she got most of the area under her control and they won't be escaping this hideout that easily.

She then turned her attention towards the silver haired man, who had finally recovered and was standing and waiting for her instructions.

"What an Idiot!" She commented in annoyance.

Even though, the guy was under her control, he still had flaws and she wondered why this guy had the worst moves ever." Nevermind! Go after them!" She exclaimed and instructed.

 _"Idiot"_ She whispered again.

Less than a moment, the silver haired man left the area to chase the others who were way ahead of him.

As for the young woman, She could only expect that their time will eventually come. She wasn't going to back down on this.

 **(CHAPTER END)**

* * *

 **(EXTRA SCENE)**

The last thing he saw in those memories was that of two kids that eerily looked like the two newcomers, who seemed to be grown up versions of them. As moments passed by, an unexpected feeling of Deja vu overwhelmed him.

A very familiar scene indeed

Sasuke's world around slowed down as he slowly walked towards the two newcomers. He had a grin in his face to which mean't that this was a challenge in front of him. A real challenge that he had been waiting for a long time.

At the same time, there was this strange feeling of something preventing him to go forth with the fight. But his desire was strong that he ignored those warnings

Before he took the first step, he first observed the two, they look like normal people but somehow right behind these two are stronger individuals that could par on higher levels.

If he had heard correctly from the rest, they were rookies. Although, that really didn't matter to him since he was going to bring out the potential in them as he took his first charged.

As for Boruto and Sarada, the two kept calm as they watched the Uchiha charged at them first. At this little available time they took, they quickly but carefully planned the next step ahead, the blonde quickly took a glanced at his Uchiha teammate, who was focused on analyzing everything.

Boruto waited as he readied himself for the impact. It didn't took long enough for the Uchiha to finally finished her analyzing as she gave a simple nod for them to have the permission to finally charged at towards the guy and they did.

Both Rookies took off at the same time with full speed, with a sole purpose of defeating the rogue Uchiha and possibly bring him back to his home.

* * *

 **AN: Thank you for reading the chapter!**


	67. Arc 3 Phase 2: Face Off Part 3

**I don't own Naruto. Mr Kishimoto Does.**

 **Author's note: Hey there Readers!, Welcome to Arc 3 Phase 2. I Hope you guys enjoy! I would also like to thank you guys for the Reviews. Favorites, and follows :)**

 **Take note: Welcome back to another chapter once again, this chapter will be continuing the events at the main ruins. The confrontation between the two rookies and a young Sasuke Uchiha has began, With all the pressure and eyes on them, How will Boruto and Sarada handle the situation at hand?**

 **Expect some grammar and spelling mistakes along the way.**

 **Thank you for Understanding :)**

 **P.S**

 **I also have a new story called "Resurrection" The story is about the dead mysteriously coming back to life years after the war. Feel free to check out the story:)**

* * *

 **Arc 3: Phase 2:**

 **Chapter 31: Face Off Part 3**

 **(Flashback)**

 _Thirteen year old Boruto immediately rested under the shade of the tree as all the sweat were coming out from him. He had just finished the last out of five sparring sessions with his Uncle Sasuke, who had now gone off to the Hokage tower to attend a mission briefing._

 _The kid looked upwards as he wondered if the man himself was a machine. He just couldn't stop himself from volunteering in these missions. He was just like his old man, the two were often seen working together to put any threats into a halt._

 _He did all of these missions with only one arm!_

 _It was kind of mind blowing when he thought of that, He also wondered if his uncle had his other arm, would these missions be over in just a few hours? He couldn't say it was all true. Although, with only one arm, he could already defeat any monstrous enemies or opponents._

 _"Daydreaming again?"_

 _A familiar voice then suddenly interrupted his own thoughts. Boruto opened his eyes as he turned his attention towards a certain raven haired glasses girl standing right in front of him, with a bored look and carrying a plastic bag of water bottles._

 _"You're exactly correct Sarada-chan!"_

 _Boruto gave a grin while scratching the back of his head. He just realized that he was day dreaming or maybe wondering that he didn't noticed that his teammate was already standing there for god knows how long._

 _Sarada gave a sigh as she drew one water bottle and offered it to the blonde." Here drink up." She simply said._

 _Apparently, she was the one that bought the water bottles from the nearby convinience store while her father and teammate were in their usual training session._

 _"Thanks!" Boruto gave a smile as he warmly welcomed the drink. He took it and immediately opened the cap, drank the cold liquid which was a very refreshing experience to be honest. He hadn't drank any liquid for hours now. He was closed to dehydration._

 _Sarada rolled her eyes." Oh don't be such a knucklehead." She said as she joined and sat down beside him under the shade of the tree._

 _The wind grew blew strong in the midst of a sunny day. It was a peaceful scenery as of now. It was probably the one that the blonde was looking and waiting for just to clear his mind and regain his energy from exhaustion._

 _"I guess that sparring session just now really gave you a beating." The raven haired girl commented as she started a conversation._

 _Boruto gave a shrug." Well, what can I say, your dad, is really hardcore." He gave his own comment, with a slight chuckle._

 _Sarada simply nodded in undertanding." I guess that's how Papa treats everyone whenever they wanted to train under him." She explained." And I guess you're very lucky to have him as a sensei." She added._

 _"Well, He only has one arm and plus he could take down anybody who dared to fight him." Boruto replied and gave a slight chuckle before he went back to the same thoughts as before._

 _"I also do wonder on how strong Uncle Sasuke is when he was younger?"_

 _Sarada responded with sigh." So you want to face a younger Papa, who can literally obliterate anyone, with two arms?" She clarifed her teammate's statement._

 _"Something like that." Boruto simply said, before contuining." It also makes me wonder if I managed to meet his younger self in the past, because he was a different person back then." He added._

 _Sarada raised both eyebrows." Oh you mean that incident a week ago?" She asked._

 _Boruto simply nodded." All these stories that we heard from friends and family, it's still a mystery to me regarding Uncle Sasuke." He said. Whenever, he asks him about his past as a Genin, he never really told him anything about it until recently during recent mission involving another Otsutsuki, he finally let out some of the truth but didn't go into detail._

 _Sarada nodded in understanding. She also has the same story. Her Mama would often say that her Papa was a different back then and that's just it. Although right now, she was getting new information from her teammate._

 _According to him, Her Papa used to be a Shinobi that defected the village to pursue his own goals, which was unknown until to this day. It came as shock to her since it was pretty much obvious that there's no chance that he would do that kind of action._

 _"I'm shock as you are." Boruto gave out a chuckle._

 _Sarada gave a sigh but smiled." You're right." She said." I guess we won't be able to know the truth unless we had the talking gadget to go back in time." She added._

 _"Nah, that thing is still in Beta." Boruto replied, before continuing." If I were to go back in time again, I would rather spend a couple of years in the past just to understand things for the better." He explained, before giving out a yawn._

 _Sarada was silent. In fact she did agreed with her teammate. She was eager to know more about the past. Yet still, she doesn't have the power to do it so. She wondered on what will she discover there especially her Papa's life during that time._

 _"I guess so, if we really had the chance maybe we could..." As soon as the raven haired girl turned her attention back towards the blonde, she was greeted by surprised to find him already falling into a deep slumber._

 _Quietness had took over as the strong wind passed by them. Sarada took a deep breath as she moved closer to the blonde and beside him. She slowly lean on the blonde's shoulder and fully rested herself. " I'm really sorry knucklehead, but I really need a pillow." She said as she let herself submerged into slumber._

 _A small smile also formed around her lips. A smile that she would be keeping for a long time._

 _As for Boruto, he had managed to hear the raven haired girl's last words before she too fell asleep. In his mind, he still wondered if he was going to get a second chance on going back to the past._

* * *

 **(PRESENT)**

His world slowed down.

He never knew that impossible second chance would become possible some day and that is now happening in front of him of his very eyes.

Boruto waited as he readied himself for the impact. It didn't took long enough for the Uchiha girl to finally finished her analyzing as she gave a simple nod for them to have the permission to finally charged at towards the the young Sasuke Uchiha and they eventually did.

Both Rookies took off at the same time with full speed, with a sole purpose of defeating the rogue Uchiha and possibly bring him back to his home village.

At the same time, they were also in par with Sasuke as he too was charging towards them with his blade ready to strike. His Sharingan had been activated so that he won't be having any trouble of predicting their moves. He was confident he would have the upper hand right away.

As soon as they finally neared each other, Sasuke gripped the handle of his weapon as he was about to take the first strike. Although, something unexpected happened before he could perform his move.

"Now!"

There was a brief shout heard from the blonde rookie. As soon as Sasuke had heard that, he suddenly felt a very strong vibration from under and near him.

"What!?" Sasuke was greeted by surprised as by the time he looked down, there were huge cracks on the ground and by the time he brought his attention up again, he was greeted by a huge wave of rocks erupting as it headed straight towards him.

He immediately avoided the wave by jumping as high as he can, his eyes still locked up on his two targets. He was thinking of who should he go at first, the raven haired teen, who was responsible for creating that wave of destruction or the blonde guy, who was finally reaching him with his Kunai.

He had less than five seconds to make his decision and eventually fate decided to make the choice for him.

By the time he focused his eyes on the blonde, his mind briefly showed him a flash of memory regarding a certain kid, who looked like the guy in front of him right now. It still continued to baffle him.

It didn't took long enough for them to finally clash their blades creating a small shockwave and thus starting off the first sword fight between the two. Both also stared into each other's eyes.

Boruto was really can't believed that this was his Uncle Sasuke in front of him. He was young yet full of emotion. He could fully sense guy's anger and he knew that this was going to be a challenge for him. There was a possibility that he could be killed in this duel if he make any wrong move.

He had to be careful.

The sword began immediately after they clashed. The blonde was greeted by a barrage of strikes from the Uchiha as he was immediately forced into the defensive side trying block and avoid the attacks from the other.

He had to admit that his teenage sensei was much more faster compare to the older version. Another difference is that this one had two set of arms while the other has only one arm. The major turning point is that the younger version doesn't have the rinnegan or even the Mangekyou yet at this time.

It was an advantage for the blonde since, he won't be having much trouble facing him. What he wanted right now was a counter offensive to put a stop of this attacks yet he can't find the right timing. He'll just have to be patient for a little while.

As for his teenage sensei, he was all over the place, trying his best as he can to lay a wound on him. It seemed that the excitement and adrenaline had gotten to him first hence why the guy was very determined in the first place.

 _"Was He really this eager to fight_?" Boruto thought to himself as evaded another strike.

The offensive side of Sasuke was just sparking up, literally sparking since he had channeled his chakra through his sword producing and unleashing his elemental lightning release jutsu. With this kind of elemental technique, it would be harder for the blonde to evade since the essence of lightning can now penetrate his skin.

The Uchiha had been a little amazed that the blonde could avoid his fastest attacks smoothly. He hadn't seen a person who dodges attacks accurately.

Boruto quickly anticipated as he too summoned his own elemental jutsu. which was an explosion jutsu. It was revealed to be his ticket to get away from defensive side for awhile. He quickly placed his hand on the ground activating the jutsu.

 ***Boom!***

An explosion then occured as Sasuke was forced to stopped his attacks and jumped out of the area to avoid the explosion. There was smoke that had appeared around the area after the small explosion. The Uchiha stood there still with his fighting stance yet looking around for the blonde.

It didn't took long enough as in a flash of yellow lightning, the blonde appeared right in front of him, who was now on the offensive side as it was now his turn to unleash his own attacks against him.

Sasuke was put into surprised as he was suddenly greeted by a swift strike of the Kunai which almost touch his cheeks. He successfully blocked it with his sword and the second the strike that followed after that.

So far the duel had been slowly turning into a sword fight between the blonde and the raven haired teen. Both of them exchange blows even though the Uchiha had the slight advantage since he had the bigger weapon compared to the blonde, who had only had his Kunai, yet still he has managed to hold himself for quite sometime now.

On the other hand, Sasuke was still amazed yet baffled." He still can keep up at this level?" He thought to himself, he was already using his full speed attacks against him.

Should He activate the cursed seal right away?

No! It was too early and it was waste of Chakra, He needed conserved his energy for his best attacks. He was going to wait for awhile and think!

As for Boruto, He was finally gaining some lead. From what he noticed, it seemed that his teenage sensei was bothered by his own thoughts, giving him a little distraction to which the blonde took advantage right away.

First, He decided pull out from the offensive side towards the defensive end, which caused the Uchiha to immediately take advantage as he unleashed some of his own sword attacks. Second, He focused his eyes on the Uchiha's feet and hands, awaiting for the right time take action. Lastly, as the Uchiha move forward to take another strike, the blonde evaded the attack by giving a slight spin around him, much to the raven haired teen's surprise.

Boruto then finally took action as he elbowed him on the back, which caused the Uchiha to be pushed forward, he then followed it by summoning a Rasengan directly sending the guy to a few distances. The blonde didn't want to immediately stabbed the guy using the Kunai.

He wasn't a murderer, and this was the younger version of his Uncle Sasuke, which also caused him to hold back during the duel, he just can't bring his full power to defeat his young sensei right away.

Sasuke was taken by shocked as immediately felt the pain on his back. the counterattack was so quick that he thought he was facing the Fourth Hokage. It also gave him the annoyance as he recovered immediately and charged at the blonde again.

This time, he could feel the aches in his head resurfing back, but it didn't matter, he wanted to fight a stronger opponent anyway.

Boruto was surprised when the Uchiha immediately recovered and charged at him again for another round of sword fight." Does even He run out of Chakra?" He thought to himself. He gave another sigh as he prepared for another round.

He also wondered on what has happened to his raven haired teammate. Wasn't she supposed to be assisting him on this battle? or Did something happen along the way that prevented her from doing so?

* * *

 **(MEANWHILE)**

Sarada gritted her teeth in annoyance as she struggled to find a way to enter the battle. They were just too fast to begin with and the raven haired girl wasn't able to find the right timing to strike her teammate's current opponent.

There was a time when she finally had the chance to enter the scene but she eventually chose to let them be as another series of problems had risen.

Another problem was that she can't just use her Sharingan that easily that it may caused some incredible consequences since the knowledge was that there was only one Uchiha in this place of battle. She looked over her surroundings and discovered the young lord seventh and her young mother, who were both shocked and ibg on what was happening right now.

They were just staring and watching the whole thing happen like they were kids lost in the middle of a city. There must be a lot of questions going around their minds right now and it could be a tough challenge to explain all of this to them right now.

At the same time, trouble began to make its presence known in the form of Tensai, who was still here and witnessing the whole scene unfold. Apparently, the man still had intentions up under his sleeve as he raised his right hand and snapped his fingers.

After that move, scoreless portions of dark entities began appearing and rising from the ground. They first appeared to be in a form of a dark transparent cloud that hovered in the air until they surround the two teens, who still weren't aware of it.

These dark entities or rather spirit remnants of shinobi, who died in this place, then slowly morphed into human shaped figures until they all took the form of Shinobis but wore a different era type of clothing. They still retained the black essence making them some kind of physical shadow people.

There were about a dozen of them in the area and all of them had one goal of closing in towards the two teens, who were still not aware that they were already in a dangerous situation.

Time was closing in for the raven haired teen, it didn't took long enough for her to decided as she immediately took off from her former position and dashed in towards the certain area.

"Naruto, Sakura!" She called out to them in hopes to alert them, but still they failed to noticed.

Sarada gritted her teeth and gave a slight frustrated look. Looks like she was going to take matters into her own hands this time. As she got closer, she secretly activated her Sharingan to learn more further of the surroundings and was surprised to discover that a lot had already happened.

And at the same time, a big group of the same kind of physical shadowy enemies began to materialized in front of her. The raven haired teen stopped her tracks as she was greeted by another problem.

"You've got to be kidding me!"

* * *

 **(Interview)**

 **"It was a place full of hidden surprises that you have to uncover by yourself, literally because all these different kinds of problems arrived at the same time and you can't just focus one problem. Boruto had caught a bigger problem and I have to handle the other big ones."**

 **-Sarada**

 **"When I learned that certain problems had risen besides the main one, I ultimately decided to let Sarada-chan handle the other stuff. We can't just focus on one.**

 **-Boruto**

* * *

 **(MEANWHILE)**

It was something very unexpected for the two main members of Team Seven. They stood there with shocked and disbelief on what was happening right in front of them. From what was supposed to be a personal battle between them and their old former teammate, they have been put into a situation where they were reduced as mere spectators.

Questions were going around their minds, as they observed and watched the blonde rookie Boruto Kazaki take on Sasuke Uchiha by himself. It also caused them great worry since the guy was considered to be a possible S rank fugitive.

Sakura could feel the tension around her surroundings. The pink haired teen was overwhelmed on what happening right now. She wasn't sure on how was she gonna handle the situation, worry was in the forefront of her head right now.

"We need to help him!"

Naruto gritted his teeth in anger, the fact that he was just standing there and doing nothing. He tried to push his way towards the main battlefield but was suddenly prevented by the pain and injuries which only resurface at this time.

It looked like the Kyuubi's support had been cut off.

He almost fell to the ground but was immediately caught by his pink haired teammate.

"Naruto, please don't force yourself!"

"You haven't recovered yet!" Sakura exclaimed as she held the sudden weakened blonde.

Naruto gave a slight chuckle." It's alright Sakura-chan, I can handle this Dattebayo!" He replied with confidence as he tried to push himself again but wasn't able to, then again, he felt some relief when the other began to use the Healing Jutsu.

"Hold still." Sakura instructed as she immediately began to heal her teammate. Her hands were still shaken from the tension of the battle.

The two stayed in that area for a little while and by the time the healing process had ended. Trouble had finally caught up to them as a certain black essence in the form of a shadowy human figure that suddenly materialized in front of her and behind her blonde teammate.

The shadowy human was described as looking like a Shinobi from a different era. The village headband could be seen but the symbol was vague to read. The last detail about the shadowy enemy was that it had a huge weapon in the form of a battle axe with a long handle and menacing yellow eyes.

"Look out!" Sakura immediately noticed it as she immediately pulled the blonde out of his position, avoiding the attempted attack on the teen as the giant axe smashed the ground instead.

Naruto was caught by surprise as he suddenly found himself being shove safely towards the ground. He heard a loud smash to which he realized that an enemy has appeared. His eyes then turned back towards the main direction and saw the enemy ready to strike again.

"Another one!" Naruto exclaimed as he pushed his pink haired teammate and himself to avoid the second attack by rolling away from their former position.

The result of the second attack also hindered the enemy as it had trouble of bringing the huge axe since it was stuck on the ground. Sakura noticed this and immediately acted by punching the ground so strong that it caused a little quake causing the shawdowy enemy to lose balance.

The next move was performed and followed up by Naruto himself as the teen quickly recovered, drawing out his Kunai and charged at a low position striking and slashing the enemy on both legs which caused it to disintegrated.

However, it did not end from there. Apparently, a huge number of them immediately materialized in front of the two and less than a minute they found themselves being surrounded.

"Dammit where did these things came from!?" Naruto exclaimed. He was surprised and puzzled at the same time. He didn't know what the heck was happening right now but he wanted to know on why there were being attack.

If these were all summons, then who summoned them?

Was it Orochimaru? But He wasn't here.

Kabuto? He wasn't here either.

Sasuke was a doubtful case. He couldn't summon all these weird shadow people? He was busy fighting the rookie.

Then that leaves a mystery question for now. Neither his pink haired teammate could answer it. They were both stuck in a situation where they force to defend their lives once again.

* * *

 **(MEANWHILE)**

It felt like watching an experimental scene, with so many things going on from left to right, it was slowly turning into a royal rumble. He moved his eyes around observing the others, who were currently engage on their own battles.

Tensai's interest focused more on the two newcomers. They were more interesting compared to the others, who were considered to be only chess pieces and pawns, expected to act the already manipulated plan.

These two were an exception.

He himself had decided not to interfere for awhile. He needed to know more of their capabilities and how they would handle this situation. He was given that power to test anyone and he would used that power to give this event a little spice just to test them, although, he won't abused it.

Since these summons were taken from the remnants of what was left in this place. The memories to be exact, it was the only thing that he could do so far. He won't be revealing much of himself and his abilities and that was his final choice unless something goes unexpected.

As he continued his observation, he collected upon several important things that he learned from the two. He first observed the teenage blonde, who was now engaging a battle with Sasuke Uchiha. He had to admit that the guy was quick and strong based from what he can see in his movements.

There was this brief theory that told him that the blonde could be stronger than the Uchiha. Even though, they were fighting at the same speed level, he could tell that blonde could go beyond that, it's just that he seemed to be holding back right now. Which brings out the question...

Was there something bothering him?

Does he even know the person that he is currently fighting right now?

If it is, then what is his relation to the raven haired teen?

Only the two main members of Team Seven, had relations with him. So what does this have to do with the new blonde comer?

Yet the teen can still bring out some of his best as he wasn't just some rookie for a team.

His attention then shifted to the other newcomer, which was the raven haired rookie. Sarada Inoue, was the only thing that he knew about her when they bumped into each other during the time at the Public Hot Spring.

To his shock, this girl was even more of a monster than any person present here. Literally, a monster since she was throwing away the shadow summons like a frisby. One summon even got uppercutted towards the air heading straight to his direction. It really did almost hit him and with that being followed by a cold brief stare from the girl herself.

Tensai gave an amused look, she was obviously sending a direct message to him and that a simple _**"Don't ever messed with a girl**_ " message.

" **SHANNARO!"**

His attention then suddenly shifted towards the other area, where the two main members of Team Seven were still engaging in their current battle. He gave this very suprised look by the time he focused on the pink haired teen, she was basically a monster similar to the other girl.

The surprising detail about it was that he noticed something similar between the pink haired girl and her raven haired counterpart. Their moveset was eerily similar yet the other was more quicker.

Then he began to slowly to connect the dots and came up with a possible theory of this rookie being related to pink haired teen. It was a far fetched idea yet somehow it feels as if it was somehow true.

It was an interesting observation and fate only knows what would happen next.

* * *

 **(MEANWHILE)**

As the fights continued on, another spectator had been left out for the remainder of the time. Sai leaned on the rock as he still found himself in pain and holding his stab wound on his shoulder which he received from the raven haired teen earlier.

His whole body was numb, as he struggled to even make the slightest move. He felt as if his whole energy had been drained. In fact, he was having that feeling the whole time since first meeting the Uchiha and his Sharingan.

"Dammit." He muttered to himself.

His eyes were the only ones active so far, moving around and observing what was currently happening around his surroundings. It felt like as if he was in the middle of a war, with all these surprises and new enemies at the helm, he didn't knew what waa going on right now.

Was this all part of the mission or just some illusion?

He observed his teammates, who were fighting them off and that really answered his question immediately that this was the real deal. If they can touch and hurt them, then there was no question.

His eyes then moved around and saw the two rookies battling their own problems. He was in fact a bit guilty and embarrassed for underestimating them. They were no ordinary rookies into his eyes, they were at a level to which he recognized only as "Elite." Just like what the rookie Boruto Kazaki was doing right now to the one Sasuke Uchiha.

He seemed to be just toying with him or so at it seems or maybe just helding back for some reason. The rogue Uchiha was giving all his effort by using incredible attacks yet the blonde was just evading every bit of it at ease.

Was this guy a rookie to begin with?

He was still unsure of it. There were just so many mysteries to ponder right now and He doesn't have all the time to do that. So wasting no time, the black haired teen tried his best to moved around, specifically trying to stand up from the ground. His knees and legs were still numb so he had to get used to it eventually. Unbeknownst to him, there was already danger creeping up from behind.

As He was about to force to himself to stand up, A huge shadow enemy wielding a huge Katana suddenly came up from behind him ready to strike.

Sai immediately felt the presence as he turned around for a brief look before throwing himself to a distance to avoid the strike. His only source of weapon, were his pen, scroll, and sketchpad which was separated from him. The boulder that he was leaning on to was destroyed and he found himself crawling away from the enemy as it chased him.

It really did felt like as if he was in some torturous event, where he was stripped from all chances to defend himself, let alone trying to find away to avoid the attacks. His only saving grace came up as he finally found his scrolls and pen from a distance.

Sai widened his eyes as he tried his best by crawling up faster just to get himself there. He could feel the large and loud footsteps heading towards him. The sounds of tHe large blade being drag recklessly on the ground.

This was the first time that the black haired teen had subconsciously asked for help towards the heavens.

Fortunately, his prayers would be answered as he finally reached his destination. He immediately grabbed his scroll and pen as he then turn his direction facing front towards his attacker.

As the large shadow enemy caught up to him. It brought its huge blade to performed another strike once again. At the same time, Sai finally managed to get a head start as he immediately opened the scroll, drew something on it and turned the front of the scroll towards the enemy. Moments later, a huge blade in ink suddenly came out from the scroll and headed directly towards the enemy instantly impaling and destroying it.

Sai gave a out his own sigh of relief as his whole body gave out from the pressure. The teen found himself catching up to his breath as the danger faded away from him. Now he found himself again as a spectator.

He observed his surroundings again and his attention focused on the middle where the rookie and the raven haired Uchiha were still battling.

It didn't took too long for him to decide as he proceeded to slowly recover and headed towards the main battlefield.

* * *

 **(MEANWHILE)**

He was breathing heavily in and out, He didn't knew the exact numbers or how many times he had performed the Rasengan already against those shadow enemies but it seemed that he had taken out a good number of them from his own point of view. At least that's what he thought of.

The bigger damaged came from none other than his pink haired teammate and the raven haired rookie, who were both eliminating the enemies from left to right. The two girls were apparently on a rampage as none of the enemies could really lay a finger on them.

If anyone would dare to come near the two girls, they will be instantly turned into a frisby just like what has become of the shadow enemies. Bodies were literally flying everywhere.

The blonde had to admit that these two girls were literally a freak of nature. Although, the only question that came up to his mind was how these two girls were somehow similar in terms of their monstrous strength?

Could this be just a coincidence?

Maybe Sakura had a distant relative that possesses the same monstrous strength as hers?

There were so many possibilities going around his head. Should he even used all his time just to figure it out or continue fighting the enemies?

He immediately chose the right decision as he was suddenly brought back to reality. He found himself staring what appears to be large shadow enemy heading straight towards his direction and is almost at point blank range.

"Oh shit!" Naruto exclaimed as he immediately evaded the attack by bending backwards to which he hasn't done before. The enemy would eventually crash on a big debris so hard that it vanished from the face of the earth.

The blonde landed on the ground as he found himself facing the clear blue sky. He was confused and began to wonder on had just happened. "How the heck did I do that Dattebayo!?" Naruto commented as he slowly recovered up. He never knew he had that kind of reflexes and reaction time.

As he was about to stand up again, he felt a sharp pain on his head as he gave out a cringed and held his head from a side. It seemed that the annoying aches had came back yet again.

As he attempted looked up towards the spot where the Rookie and his former teammate, who were still engaged on a battle, a certain short piece of memory flashed before his eyes. From what he saw, it was a blonde haired boy sparring up against a raven haired man at a certain training ground.

The short memory ended there and Naruto was left baffled and confused once more. He tried to figured it out by connecting the dots but he wasn't able to do so.

Although, He was glad that the headaches were just here for a brief time. He then turned his attention towards main battlefield and immediately headed there to help the rookie.

However, before he could even take the first steps, there was a snap to which he had heard as he suddenly found himself being unable to move as his whole body became paralyzed.

"What the hell...!?" Naruto exclaimed to himself as he wondered on what was happening to him.

He can sense no enemies approaching and only found himself there being stuck in that position.

Unbeknownst to him, a certain brown haired man, by the name of Tensai was responsible as he stood up from his position to finally take action.

* * *

 **(MEANWHILE)**

It was a very much an unlikely scene going on. It wasn't like any other since it was a combination of destruction and girl power. Sarada and Sakura were mainly the ones responsible for creating a chaos that no one would dare to interfere.

The two girls found themselves taking on the last portion or group of shadow enemies. It didn't take too long for them to immediately finish the whole fight in a matter of minutes. Although, something happened in last minutes of the fight.

"Come on Bring it!"

It was often one of the common phrases said by the pink haired teen during or in the midst of a heated battle. She had that kind of mannerisms since she was a kid growing up. She was a type of person who would expressed her emotions in every battle that she was involved into.

It was one of things that kept her passion alive as a Shinobi. She also didn't expected that she was going to share the same kind of aspect with the raven haired rookie as both of them fought side by side, defeating every shadow enemy right now.

There was one scene where she found herself grabbing an enemy by the collar and threw it towards the raven haired girl who got the message as the latter gave a high roundhouse kick which sent the one enemy towards a group of them instantly knocking them out as if they were somekind of bowling pins.

Punch after Punch, Smash after Smash, both of them were sending a message to everyone.

The chemistry between them was a thing that she had never seen before. It felt like she was already comfortable as if she knew what would be their next move and how will their next plan of attack will work.

She also felt this strange sense of proudness towards the rookie. She didn't knew if it was because of her mentorship as a team leader that she was starting to see her advices going into effect. Although, this was a different kind of proudness as if this was a thing to be treasured for the rest of her life.

Her light green eyes observed the rookie once more while she was finishing the remainder of the enemies. At the same time, she felt a sudden pain on her head that she was forced to hold her head because of the pain. A blurry image of a crying little raven haired girl hugging her flashed before her eyes.

By this time she could feel a strange emotion yet again and this time she could feel sorrow.

As for Sarada, the raven haired teen took noticed of that and she immediately rushed towards her young teenage mother.

"Sakura!" The raven haired teen exclaimed as she finally reached her destination." Are you alright?" She followed up another question as she also began to check if her young mom had sustained any injuries.

So far there were none with the exception of the ache on her head.

As for the pink haired teen, there was silence that overwhelmed her before as she was looking down. A few moments later, she slowly raised up her head as she then looked straight towards the rookies eyes and gave her a mysterious smile.

In that moment in time, there was something strange yet a familiar vibe that Sarada had felt. When she met her the pink haired girl's eyes, she saw something different about it and somewhat surprised her.

* * *

 **(Interview)**

 **"It was that time when I looked into her eyes, I saw Mama herself looking back at me and she gave me this smile that I haven't seen for quite a long time now. It was a very strange scene since she had never given me this kind of look before."**

 **-Sarada**

* * *

After that, the pink haired teen reverted back to herself as she suddenly collapse on the rookie's arms. Her consciousness was weakened.

"D-Don't worry, I'm fine." Sakura finally replied with a slightly weakened voice." Go help Bolt over there, He needs your help." She said and encouraged the raven haired rookie before staring at the blank space wondering about what had really happened just now.

She would eventually slowly lose her consciousness and fell into slumber.

As for Sarada, she nodded in understanding as she carefully assisted and brought her young mother to a safe spot, where the latter rested on a huge rock.

After that, she proceeded to head towards the main battlefield to assist her blonde teammate, who was currently on a ongoing battle with her teenage father.

Although, before she could do that a certain voice had suddenly interrupted her.

 **"That was Impressive!"**

Sarada stopped her tracks quickly turned around to face a familiar brown haired man, who was now beside the pink haired teen.

The Uchiha girl immediately went into her fighting stance." Don't you there touch her!" She calmly exclaimed to the man, who was none other than Tensai.

The young man gave a small smirk as he took a glance at the unconscious pink haired teen before looking back at the raven haired girl with both of his hands raised up. "Don't worry, I won't touch her." He replied."

I am gentlemen." He added, his voice giving out that eventual promise.

"However, I'm really curious, on how you seemed to care so much for her, even though you two obviously had just met." Tensai added.

Sarada narrowed her eyes." It's none of your business." She replied, before continuing." What matters the most is that no one gets hurt today!"

Tensai nodded in understanding." I guess so, It seems that you've done most of your objectives." He commented before turning towards the main battlefield." I wonder if you could still accomplish the last objective." He said.

"Your teammate is holding back."

There was quietness that took over thereafter, Sarada didn't wasted anytime as she immediately headed out towards the main area. However, a lot already had happened since.

* * *

 **(MEANWHILE)**

Boruto gritted his teeth in annoyance as he found himself slightly slipping from his concentration. The fight had just gotten into higher levels as he found himself trying to avoid elemental attacks from his raven haired counterpart.

Sasuke had apparently resided on using elemental summons, mainly focusing on the element of lightning, which was his preferred choice. He then combined it with his elite Taijutsu and sword combat prowess to finally gain the majority of the advantage.

The battlefield was filled with creative chaos. A series of Lightning bolts began flashing around the area as the Uchiha was very intent on defeating the rookie.

Sasuke knew from the very start that this kid was something special and He could sense that he was somehow helding back and he wanted to bring out the best of him.

"It's useless if you don't fight back kid!" He told the rookie with an arrogant expression." You'll get yourself killed anyway." He added, before he felt a slight ache in his head.

As for Boruto, He tried his best to keep calm and not let his emotions get the best of him. He had to admit that it was really hard to face the person that helped him to become the person that he is today. With so many good memories that he could recall, it was tough for him to go on toe to toe with his young master.

* * *

 **(Interview)**

 **"I seriously didn't want to bring the situation towards a possible deathmatch. Although, I really don't have any choice and I had to make the decisive decision during that time when I was facing him."**

 **-Boruto**

* * *

However, at the same time, he knew that if he didn't act on this situation. he might as well be stuck here forever and he didn't want to waste a lot of his energy on this. The only thing he could do was to think of a move that would disable his opponent but at the same time won't kill him or hurt him in a way.

The possiblity of bringing him back to Konoha earlier was in his hands. Less than a few seconds, he finally thought of a move to execute and he waited for the right moment to do it.

He focused his eyes on the Uchiha's feet yet again awaiting for the moment for another strike.

As for Sasuke, he was still continuing his onslaught as he attempted his best just to lay any single damage to the blonde, yet he was still unable to.

Frustration would soon catch up to him as he began to level up his moves again. He increased his offensive side more and more until he could secure the time where there was no more chances for the blonde to perform a counterattack and just as he predicted the latter began to jumped far away from him.

The odds were turning into his favor slowly.

However, at the same time, the aches in his head continued to grow as time passed by. It would soon reached its turning point as his mind began to change his own world. He began to see flashes of memories which wasn't familiar to him yet he had seen them in his dreams.

The memories briefly took him to a certain training ground where he found himself in a sparring session along with young blonde boy, whos determined eyes was to beat him at any cost.

" _ **Come on! I thought you were faster than this**_?"

" _ **It's not over yet! I'm gonna beat you and make sure that it will take less than one minute Dattebassa!"**_

 _ **"Let's see about that."**_

It was at this time that the ache had taken its toll and he felt a sharp pain on his head that he was suddenly forced to stop his attacks and held his head in pain.

The Uchiha's blade dropped on the ground as He struggled much to the surprised of the rookie.

Boruto widened his eyes in suprised as he immediately stopped moving. He found himself looking at the young Sasuke Uchiha, who had somehow been incapacitated by a mysterious headache.

He then instinctively turned to his right to see his raven haired teammate, who had just arrived at the scene. He raised his hand to tell the girl to stop as the situation had surprisingly change.

The rest of everyone was quite to shocked to see what was happening right now. Even for Tensai, who was baffled since this wasn't supposed to really happen in this event.

At the same time, Sai had arrived at the scene from behind as he acted immediately by using his ink summons to bind the Uchiha to close any chances of him escaping.

As for Boruto, The rookie slowly headed towards the guy just to check if he was alright. In that moment in time, Concern took over him and He thought that the battle was finally over because of unexpected circumstances.

He could feel his heart beating faster as he slowly reached his counterpart, who had apparently turned silent for quite sometime now. His head was down and he wasn't showing signs off being conscious.

It seemed that the pain was too much for him to bear that it completely shut his mind down.

Sai on the other hand, made sure that things would no longer go out of hand as he even summoned his ink substances yet again to create a connection to the original one to further tightened the security and to make sure the teen won't be able to escape this time.

The whole area was covered with silence. Sarada couldn't help it as she proceeded to head to the main spot.

"Boruto." She muttered out to her teammate. Worry was also growing inside of her.

As for the blonde rookie, he had finally reached the raven haired teen. As He was about to stretched out his hand towards the unconscious teen, something unexpectedly interrupted him.

There was a certain sound of a single finger snap as he immediately turned to his right to see Tensai, standing near the area with a confidant smile.

For a few moments, the blonde was confused but gave a serious expression before turning back towards his current direction only to face the Uchiha fully awakened with a insane and twisted expression.

In a matter of seconds, the ink substances which binded him were destroyed by lightning to which emitted from the raven haired teen much to the shock of Sai.

At the same time, Boruto's Jougan reacted and activated, he found himself staring at a dark essence surrounding the other.

Moments after that Sasuke gripped his blade and immediately made his move by stabbing the rookie on the stomach.

Boruto's eyes widened in shock as the blade slowly penetrated his skin. His instincts took over as he tried to back away only to get kicked by the Uchiha which sent him to a distance.

Everbody was in shock with the exception of one. As much as Sai wanted to help, he wasn't able to since he was still weakened by his wounds.

Boruto himself laying on the ground as he held his left stomach in pain. There was a small portion of blood coming out the wound and he could a little bit of electricity since he saw the Uchiha channeled his lightning release. He found himself incapacitated and unable to freely while the other was slowly coming towards him.

"You've got to be kidding me!" Boruto exclaimed to himself as he tried to back away. He blame himself for being distracted at this time.

As for Sasuke, he headed towards the rookie as many thoughts came into his mind. Confidence had finally gotten into him and he thought he had finally won the battle. As he got closer towards him, he held his blade with an intent to finish him once and for all.

Boruto held his breath as he found himself staring at his young master who still had that crazy look. What caught his attention about him was the dark aura that surround him. It gave him confusion and wondered if the guy has been controlled or that was his actual power.

It doesn't matter since he was close at death's door.

There was silence that took over once again, Sasuke, who was close to victory stood stared down at the rookie. He had to admit that he was impressed on what the guy had shown to him during the fight. He seemed to have finally figured out a certain flaw about him and that was small distractions.

"Some rookie you are." He muttered to himself as he slowly raised his blade in an attempt give one more strike. He also gave one last stare which will eventually be his own distraction.

The memories had returned once again and this time it showed him the same setting but different scenario. It showed him the same blonde kid from before and this time he was giving him a goofy and confident grin.

 ** _"Don't worry Uncle Sasuke! I'll make sure I'll keep her safe!_** "

Once he heard that familiar voice, his eyes widened in shocked as he realized something. At the same time, his world began to change as the aches in his head made a return. The memories then soon flooded his mind and slowly became too overwhelming for him

 _"What is happening?"_

 _"Why am I...?"_

He was changing.

 _ **"Papa!"**_

A voice of a kid then called out to him. The raven haired teen then looked up to see a vision of a familiar raven haired little girl, donning a red glasses, looking and smiling at him.

Sasuke observed the little girl as he slowly took a few steps. At the same time, he carefully opened his mouth and whispered a certain name, following that, a small tear also fell from his eye.

The brief memory experience would eventually come to an end as he was finally brought back to the real world. His vision then changed and instead of the blonde kid or the little raven haired girl, he found himself staring at a fist of a certain raven haired rookie before finally being sent away.

In a unexpected turn of events, Sarada had finally took action as she appeared in front of the guy. Wasting no time and immediately unleashing a haymaker which instantly sent him flying towards a few distances and crashing into a debris. At the same time, the dark essence surrounding him vanished.

Boruto, who had witness gave out a sigh of relief." What took you so long." He muttered to himself.

As for Sarada, she was breathing in and out. It was about time that she had took matters into her own hands. She blame herself for not acting up earlier. She immediately knelt down and check the wound that her teammate had sustained.

Boruto gave a little cringed because of pain but eventually calmed down by the time he looked unto to his teammate's comforting eyes.

Sarada gave out a sigh relief as it turned out that the blade luckily didn't hit important organs. It was basically a flesh wound that the blonde had sustained.

As she was about to heal her teammate, when a voice then interrupted her once more.

 **"I guess the damage has been done.** "

Both of the rookies then turned around to face Tensai once again, who stood in front of them with an amused look.

Sarada hissed." What are you trying to say?" She asked.

"I must say that you did a great job on handling the situation." The young man said." However, you can't change anything on what has been foretold." He added.

Sarada narrowed her eyebrows." You mean we can't bring him back to his own village?" She tried to clarify the man's statement.

Tensai nodded." That's just a part of it." He replied." Eventually, History will push back to its original course everytime it has been interrupted." He added." I guess this will be a lesson for you two." He warned them." And If you don't want to end up like this, I suggest that you two won't be interfering anymore."

There was quietness that took over once again. Tensai had finally told the two on what he had to say. It was time to leave for now since he was going to give them time to realize.

"Orochimaru will be on his way here soon."

Those were his last words before completely disappearing in a blur.

* * *

 **(MEANWHILE)**

Sai cringed in pain as he struggled to get up from the ground. He could feel his hand and legs shaking and he really felt weakened by the ordeal. He bore a great disappointment for not taking action since the injuries were too much for him. He grabbed a certain huge boulder that acted his support on his way to standing up.

Along the way, his thoughts came up to him once again. He blamed himself for not being too careful during the fight. He could've fought calmly but he was too eager on defeating the Uchiha right away and hence why there was no teamwork just now.

He couldn't go back in time and redo it all again. There was no possibility of a second chance to redeem himself again, although he did his part during the battle.

However, by the time he got up, he suddenly felt a presence approaching him and he turned to his left to face Sasuke himself, who was slowly walking and limping towards his direction.

At this rate, nervousness had took over as Sai widened his eyes in little panic. He was shaking all over as he tried to think of any solution. So far he was getting a lot of ideas yet, his body won't cooperate with him.

As Sasuke neared his spot, the panic increased as he attempted to walk away with his weakened legs. It doesn't matter if he can still feel the pain as long as he can escape. However, it was already too late as the Uchiha was able to catch up to him.

"Damn!" Sai gritted his teeth as he had no choice but to be on his defensive stance as he brace himself for a possible onslaught again.

His heart beat was getting faster and he held his breath along with a serious expression. He closed his fist as he prepared to fight another battle.

As time passed by, the possible fight that he was expecting didn't come into fruition. Apparently, Sasuke simply walked passed by him without doing anything to him. Sai was even more confused to what had happened just now. He focused his eyes on the raven haired teen, who was heading back towards the main area, where the rookies where currently at.

Worry soon began to raised up for Sai, His thoughts were telling and warning him about the raven haired Uchiha once again. Yet, he cannot sense any danger or threat from him which was strange.

* * *

 **(MEANWHILE)**

The short-lived peace would soon be interrupted.

Sarada slowly and carefully assisted her teammate on his way to recover up from the ground. She had apparently started healing him although due to the dangerous circumstances of more enemies arriving in the area, she had decided to take the rest of the group out to a safe place.

Although, it would take a lot of work since she had to gather the rest of the team members to a safe spot.

Both rookies, who were about to leave area when they suddenly were interrupted yet again. Both turned their heads towards their current direction only to face The young Uchiha teen once again.

"How's this even possible!?" Boruto gave a quiet little whine." You already punch him hard on the face Dattebasa!" He added, while wondering how the heck did the guy recover so fast after receiving a possible death punch from his teammate.

Sarada just rolled her eyes and gently placed the blonde on the ground. To be truthful, she already had enough of this, if this was what the teen really wanted, so be it. She was going to give him one more round as she positioned herself into her fighting stance.

As for the other, He had something different in mind.

Silence had took over once again. Everybody was holding their breaths off. They all wondered on what was going to be his next move. The only possible scenario is that they had in mind was that will orchestrate another attack again.

Sarada foresaw that and prepared herself. Although, something unexpected followed after that which really surprised her.

By the time her raven haired counterpart had finally caught up. He stopped his tracks a few meters away from her and brought his head up, showing a very different expression.

A small worried but genuine smile.

Sarada narrowed her eyes, she wasn't falling for any kind of smile tricks made famous by Sai. Although, as she continued to observed him, especially the face that he was showing, she noticed something different.

It was the eyes as if she was staring into a whole new person.

She wouldn't say that it was a completely different one since it was still the young Sasuke Uchiha from the outside. But the way those eyes potrayed itself, it was much more older, mature, and weary.

The last thing that she noticed was the whole expression itself. The expression of the raven haired teen, was the same kind of expression that she had seen many times from her Papa, everytime when worry takes over him. This was the final detail that finally opened the can and spilled the revelation.

Sarada slowly let her guard down as she thought of anything to say. But before she could even speak, she was beaten to it by none other than the raven haired teen himself.

As for Sasuke, He finally gain the courage to speak and open his lips to say his eventual word which was revealed to be a certain name.

"Sarada."

* * *

 **(Interview)**

 **"At that time, I really didn't believed it. I really thought that he was just somehow faking all of it. But as I continued to observed, the way he acted around, the way he looked and the emotion that he showed.**

 **It made me realized that this person standing right in front of me was indeed him.**

* * *

 **(CHAPTER END)**

 **AN: Thank you for reading the chapter:)**

* * *

 **Small Preview for Next Chapter:**

 **Time was officially running out for them. They were surrounded by the countless experiments that had been released and brought back from the dead. There was no escape this time.**

 **As much as Showtaro thought of any ideas as a means to a possible escape, it was just useless.**

 **However, for his Otsutsuki friend, He had something different in mind. Kaiga drew out a small pouch from his pocket, he took out a a piece of seed and observed it. He took a deep breath as he knew if he swallowed this, there was no going back.**

 **He either die a hero or live long enough to see himself become another victim.**


	68. Arc 3 Phase 2: Sacrifice

**I don't own Naruto. Mr Kishimoto Does.**

 **Author's note: Hey there Readers!, Welcome to Arc 3 Phase 2. I Hope you guys enjoy! I would also like to thank you guys for the Reviews. Favorites, and follows :)**

 **Take note: Welcome back to another chapter! This chapter will tackle the final scenes and events inside the hideout. With the trio finally on the verge of reaching their goal, how will they handle the challenges ahead of them? Was there still hope of escaping or will one of them have to give up in order for the others to survive?**

 **Expect some grammar and spelling mistakes along the way.**

 **Thank you for Understanding :)**

 **P.S**

 **I also have a new story called "Resurrection" The story is about the dead mysteriously coming back to life years after the war. Feel free to check out the story:)**

* * *

 **Arc 3: Phase 2:**

 **Chapter 32: Sacrifice**

Sharp vivid green eyes continued to observed the monitors up front. Her lips still retaining that sadistic grin as she watched the three helpless buffoons run for their lives in the midst of the a cat and mouse chase. Her pursuer, the ever idiot silver haired four eyes was basically tailing behind them and seemed to get more slower every second.

She even wondered if even chose the right decision to control him. He was just really messed up to begin with.

Retreating from her previous failed plan, Yuko found herself at the only control room of the hideout. A dozen of monitors were in placed. From this perspective, she could literally see every available area around and could easily monitor their movements. Based from her observations, the trio were lost, still running through the mazes and corridors while being chased.

Hmmm, Looks like those little puppies are lost again!" She thought herself. A gleeful smile forming around her lips. She then turned her eyes towards another set of monitors, which showed the quarantined experiments of the snake man.

There was a reason why these particular people were quarantined or basically imprisoned. They were currently seen as violent and mindless creatures of freakish nature already.

The young lady then turned back to the previous set of monitors and saw that they were heading to the area where danger and death lurks the most. She gazed back to her right and immediately made her final decision.

 _"I wonder what will happened if I press this button?"_

She gave her own sarcastic comment, being playful right now as she reluctantly pressed the button releasing them from their prisons and confinement. Each of these experiments simultaneously went out of their prisons and headed out to where they smelled the trail of scent coming from the trio.

"Let's see if they can still get out of this place in one piece." Yuko thought to herself. A playful sadistic smile went across her face. With a new plan on the helm once again, what could possibly be the result this time around?

Probably an all out eating contest for these experiments. A wonderful scene to watch in honesty.

The young lady in her early twenties, loved the blood and gore, like in those agressive zombie movies, she was already imagining them being devoured or at least getting their throats cut open or at least being eaten. It was one of her favorite lists of killings.

She hoped for these abominations to catch up with the trio immediately so that she can finally watched one of her most twisted dream scenes. She was going to get that popcorn immediately once it had already started.

The excitment was catching up with her as she began to slightly move and dance gracefully like a ballerina, humming to a certain song while holding her blade on her hand. Slashing and Dicing through the blank air.

"I can't wait!" She excitedly exclaimed.

Unbeknowst to her knowledge, a mysterious bright light suddenly passed by the monitor screens heading off to a certain place.

* * *

 **(MEANWHILE)**

Loud Echoes of multiple footsteps were being heard across the corridors. The trio of Showtaro, Kaiga, and Mitsue found themselves still fleeing from the silver haired man, who was still chasing them throughout. When all seemed to be on track since they were on their way to the exit, they suddenly found themselves getting lost again without any reason or explanation.

"You've got to be freaking kidding me!" Showtaro exclaimed for the fifth time.

The other two stayed quiet yet confused. Apparently, they found themselves staring at another dead end once again. The huge wall standing tall as it slowly reduced their chances of escaping this place. They already spent a good amount of time searching for the exit but still they couldn't find it.

Kaiga was baffled. Now matter how much he used his eye ability, he still couldn't get them to the right direction. This was already the Rinnegan that he was using." This is impossible!" He thought to himself, his mind still wondering on what to do next.

"There must be some mistake, I think we just went the wrong way or maybe there's a Genjutsu placed here."

There was a little panic in his tone of voice. He tried to deny the fact many times and still pushed the belief of someone or something being responsible for getting themselves lost in the first place.

As for Showtaro, his emotions slowly rose up to take over him. He then gave a slight annoyed look at the Otsutsuki." A Genjutsu?" He said, before continuing." Or maybe you are just really good at getting anyone lost." He commented aloud, catching the attention of his friend and also the boy.

Kaiga immediately turned to his duck comrade and gave him a surprised look." Excuse me?" He asked. He was definitely caught off guard by his comment." Are you telling me it's all my fault?" He added.

Showtaro gave a tough face." What I'm trying to say is that you shouldn't depend on an ability that you don't know how to use yet!" He explained, referring to his friend's Rinnegan, which he had just used against the enemy.

"Hey! It's my first time using that ability." Kaiga replied back and quickly defended himself." If it wasn't for it, we've joined history already." He added.

The Otsutsuki really didn't get what the duck was trying to tell him. All of a sudden, he just blurted out this negative comment against him for no reason at all.

Showtaro narrowed his eyes." You're missing the point!" He argued." You're too confident and depend too much of your clan's ability!" He said, before continuing." And this is the results!" He added, beckoning him to look around his surroundings

The duck wasn' t that type of person, who is too dependent on the supernatural abilities of anyone. Despite belonging to the Pure Land, he was a person of practicality. He belong more to the logical side of things. He gave out his own disappointment because his Otsutsuki friend was so confident that he could lead themselves out of this place in no time by using that eye, to which he still hasn't fully figure out and instead of retracing their steps.

Kaiga, on the other hand was a bit offended by the duck's words. After all his efforts, nothing but criticism was entering his mind. So he gave an upset and regretful expression." So what do we do in your own terms?" He asked.

There was a brief moment of quietness that took over.

Showtaro being the immediate decisive duck that he is, shared his idea." We retrace our steps and head back to where we started." He proposed confidently.

"Retraced our steps back?" Kaiga spoke this time." Do you want us to go back there get ourselves killed?" He protested against the decision.

Showtaro was frustrated." It's the only way!" He said before pointing at the Otsutsuki." Besides, it's just one person, You can take care of that with your Rinnegan right?" He added, with a little bit of sarcasm.

"So now you're being too dependent on my ability." Kaiga responded back. It seemed that the duck was insulting his capabality to defend indirectly.

"I never said that." Showtaro replied." What I mean't is that if you weren't the take charge guy just now, we probably had gotten out of this maze already!" He said.

Kaiga gritted his teeth in annoyance." No! You're the one who always takes charge!" He responded back. Despite the duck being his long time friend, he was still expecting that certain attitude, which apparently remained until now.

It was one of the reasons on why there was a small ruin in their friendship.

As their argument continued, they slowly forget that there was someone with them. Mitsue stood in front of the two, being an audience once again and watching their ongoing argument.

From his perspective, it was more of a different story. During that stretch of running around just to find their way out, the two seemed to be switching decisions, everytime there was an option, the duck would say right and the Otsutsuki would say left. They were not aware on what they were doing at that time and the boy cannot join their conversation because of the fear of getting yelled at.

It was during this time that an idea came up to him. He recalled that there was another way out besides going back to there starting point. Luckily, he can still able to remember the important cuts and details.

There was a new hope growing inside and he was eager to tell the two immediately.

" **GUYS!** "

He yelled the loudest as he can which instantly broke their argument.

Showtaro and Kaiga immediately stopped their mouths from arguing and turned their attention to the boy, who was giving them the "Listen to me if you want to live" face. Silence took charge afterwards as the boy wss finally given the opportunity.

Mitsue didn't waste his time as he opened his mouth and spoke.

"I finally know the way out!"

* * *

 **(Interview)**

 **"These guys were really prone to arguments, I have to say. They were like this smart yet angry debaters, who couldn't get things in agreement. It takes a little kid to get their minds back together."**

 **-Mitsue**

* * *

 **(LATER ON)**

The journey continued on as the trio found themselves running and traversing through a set of different corridors and pathways. It was a somewhat fast and slow pace as the boy would sometimes confidently lead them to areas which they had never seen before and the boy would later take a brief stoppage to recall the right directions.

As for the Otsutsuki and the duck, the two had no choice but to only trust the boy, to which they did. Since the boy had been staying for a long while, it did make sense that he somehow knew or can recall every path in this place. Something that Kaiga himself didn't have since he had been stuck in just one area for many years.

The Otsutsuki could only assist the boy on helping him recall areas and solved occasional puzzles along the way.

Showtaro kept the cautiousness of the group alive. He had been moving his eyes around his surroundings for quite awhile now since they began their second search. He was just having this familiar feeling of unexpected danger slowly creeping from nowhere.

What was there to expect besides being chased a brainwashed mad man?

At this point in time, the areas were changing and getting bigger. The group had reached a certain area or corridor, which was close to being part of the darkness, it was only supported by several torches which were displayed on handles attached to the wall.

There was another quietness that took over. The only sound that they could hear was their footsteps through echoes emitting around the wide pathway. There was this strange extra footsteps from behind which the duck had noticed, but chose to ignore since it could be because of the effectd of the sound.

At this time, Showtaro's feathers began to slightly raised up. There was chill that run through his spine. He immediately moved his head from both sides of his surroundings as as he caught glimpse of shadows moving around.

The duck's widened his eyes in slight terror as he began to see the shadows slowly materializing into human figures.

"Showtaro!" He then heard a loud whisper coming from familiar voice as he turned around to face his Otsutsuki friend, giving him a puzzled and slightly concerned look.

"Is there something matter?" Kaiga asked.

Still continuing his steps, Showtaro simply his head and ignored his fears." No, Don't worry, 'I'm fine." He replied.

"Alright...?" Kaiga replied with a slight baffled voice. He wondered on what was happening to the his friend.

Was he seeing something that he wasn't seeing right now?

Mitsue, who also turned his attention towards the duck, also felt something unpleasant. In fact, he was hearing voices just awhile ago and an eerie female voice giggling.

* * *

 **(Interview)**

 **"I thought I was losing my mind at that time. Everything suddenly just went into full horror mode. Before we knew, we were already walking into someone's crazy trap."**

 **\- Showtaro**

* * *

The route that they eventually took was slowly revealing to be more than meets the eye. The atmosphere was slowly intensifying. There was this heavy feeling of uncertainty and unrest growing inside of them. They could only hope that nothing would ever go wrong.

The certain feeling of not hearing your own footsteps was already troubling. It felt like you were on a place where everything in their surroundings was muted. You can't even hear a single thing even your own breathing. It shows that they were already knocking on danger's door.

Showtaro could feel his nervousness arising. He was currently on the kid's right shoulder. As for the other two, they try not to be affected by the current ambience that they were receiving.

There was indeed in fact another way out. Just several corridors blocks and corridors away there was a final pathway which leads to a huge exit leading up to the main scene where the others were currently at. If only they knew that they were almost there that they brushed off their feelings of uneasiness and started running already.

However, that wasn't fate's plan for them. They still had to go through more.

It was at this time that they found themselves in the middle of the journey and a first of the series of unfortunate events.

There was this area in the corridor, where a series of old rusty metallic doors were located. Once the trio had stepped onto that area, they already knew that there was no turning back.

"I really hate places like this!" Showtaro commented, finally hearing his own voice." Why do we have to go through here!" He added.

Kaiga gave a sigh." Because it's the only way." He simply said, before continuing." We have to go through this if all want to get out of here." He added.

Showtaro didn't reply as he chose to remain quiet. Yet he still let out a faint mutter." Let's hope so." He said, before focusing back at the main direction.

Mitsue could feel the remnants of the argument between the two. It seemed that after that scene, the tension still hasn't faded away yet. Maybe that's how their frienship work all the time?

He wondered on why these two guys were having disagreements despite their friendship. Could they just put their differences aside and work together for the good of everyone?

How will they resolve their differences?

* * *

 **(Interview)**

 **"I was really wondering at that time on when will they finally be friends again. It's just sad to see them fight in the middle of crisis."**

 **-Mitsue**

* * *

It was this time that something was already in the midst of their thoughts. Unbeknownst to them, one of the doors suddenly opened by itself and a human shape figure stepped out from the shadows. It slowly walked and moved like a contorted twist of nightmare towards the trio.

Mitsue, Kaiga, and Showtaro, stopped their tracks at the same time. They all felt chills that went up towards their spine as they slowly tilted their heads to their behind. They all turned around to see a human shape figure walking towards them at a slower pace. The litted torches were their only source of properly identifying the mysterious figure.

"What do you think is that?" Showtaro asked, while the Otsutsuki shrugged.

"Beats me, Maybe a survivor?" Kaiga shrugged and tried to guess. He was already planning to use the Rinnegan to see its real identity. Although, he wasn't able to.

On the other hand, Mitsue was beginning to recall this area in the hideout again. He realized that there was a reason why this doors were always kept locked. The reason was that these rooms or confinements were revealed to contain the experiments of Orochimaru.

The wild and dangerous ones.

As soon as the figure neared them, the light from the torches finally revealed its whole appearance.

It looked like the stuff from anyone's nightmares. It was some kind of human but was covered with blood all over the body. It also had bandages which were wrapped around in some parts, especially the mouth, and with the exception of the eyes, which were apparently gouged and dried out.

It was also wielding two knives on both hands as it walked and swayed towards the. before it stopped for a brief moment.

Silence then took over once again.

The trio stood there without moving a single muscle. All of them were staring widely at the nightmarish presence. They couldn't think of what to do as of now. All of their minds were frozen at that point.

"I told you were in danger!" Showtaro whispered towards them.

Kaiga gave a stiff sigh." I know, but let's keep our mouths shut for the better." He suggested.

"Guys, when I say run-" Mitsue joined in and was about to finish the conversation before being cut away.

 **"RUN!** "

In somehow expected twist of events, both Showtaro and Kaiga simultaneously shouted and along with the boy, all of them immediately scrammed off.

At the same time, the creature also proceeded to moved and began chasing the trio at a fast and smooth pace. It was also followed by several doors opening and the other experiments also came out as they sensed the trio's loud presence.

* * *

 **(Interview)**

 **"I thought, I was going to faint at that time. We were really in a state of shock and we didn't knew what to do or how to react."**

 **-Showtaro**

 **"Our hearts were pounding at that point. I was having a hard time whether to try and fight it or just run, and I chose to run along with them which was the right choice because after we were being chase by a dozen."**

 **-Kaiga**

 **"I know in my heart that we will get out of this place alive, that's why I immediately decided to run and they were the first ones to take off. How shocking was that?"**

 **-Mitsue**

* * *

 **(MEANWHILE)**

The young lady was having the time of her life. Being the orchestrator was great, but being able to watch the results were even more greater and she found herself cheerfully and sadistically laughing all the way.

She really enjoyed seeing the fear in people, especially when they are running for their lives. This time was much more different. A duck, an Otsutsuki, and human boy were the current victims and she very much liked it.

"Try something new for a change." She thought to herself.

It was something that she wasn't expecting. These three new characters, they somehow looked interesting to play with, despite not caring where they even come. She often picks random people as her playful victims to begin with.

They too didn't have to worry since, she wasn't going to really kill them or whatsoever. However, she will be giving them a nightmare that they wouldn't forget for the rest of their lives.

The only thing that she had to do was to control her excitement or things may get out of hand. She had the most mischievious hands that ever will be.

Yuko gave yawn as she then moved her eyes towards a certain direction en route towards the larger areas. A devious smile then formed around her lips as she knew the next stage of this playful game of hers.

Things were going as she has exactly planned. It's only a matter of time before they arrived at the home of the big one.

Who knows what else she did in that control room. What kind of atrocious things would the trio be facing next?"

* * *

 **(Interview)**

 **"This is just so exciting for me! It was good thing that I chose to stick around for a little while. Who knows what boring mission would I be assigned to. It's pretty sad that nowadays, you have to make things enjoyable for yourself. I guess, I'll make this one memorable for me before I get myself into trouble once again." (Rolls her eyes and gives a boring expression)**

 **-Yuko**

* * *

 **(LATER ON)**

The journey had gone into unexpected turn of events.

The nightmare was indeed real as the trio found themselves running as fast as they can while being chased by a large amount of these mindless abominations. They didn't bother to look or glance back since if they did, they might find one of their legs chopped already or their eyes pierced by something sharp.

The trio found themselves traversing different directions. Every pathway they took, metallic doors would open simultaneously and these mindless creatures would get out like wild animals hungry for blood and life. In that span of an hour, they were thrust into a very intense situation.

Mitsue was running as fast as he can. His heart was pounding faster than ever. He could feel his emotions rising up and tears were starting to fall from his eyes. The fear of dying was already there. It was hard to imagine himself being eaten alive by those things. The only thing he could right now was to strength up himself up and lead the rest to the right direction.

Even though, this was going to be a challenge.

Showtaro, who was still on the boy's shoulder, gave a look of sympathy and guilt. He then took a brief glanced at the other, who also had that same expression.

Kaiga, too had realized it.

In fact, both of them realized that they themselves weren't contributing or helping and making the situation more worst. They left the responsiblity to the boy, who had no choice but to lead through the maze in favor of their little argument which eventually went off nowhere.

Both of them wanting to help and redeem themselves. Showtaro started the unexpected plan by glancing upwards as he saw that the ceiling was getting higher. He continued to observed once more and realized that they were in a massive chamber. At least ten times bigger than the previous one.

He also realized that the corridors they were running on the right now were just a part of a huge maze which was located inside this huge chamber. He took the little time to carefully plan it out thus he finally had the idea.

The duck then spoke." Kaiga, Listen to me very carefully." He said catching the Otsutsuki's attention.

I will head up to see the big overview of the maze." He explained, before continuing." Go lookout for the kid first!" He instructed, as he spread his wings and took upwards.

Kaiga simply nodded" Got it!" He replied as he immediately took responsiblity for the boy's safety.

* * *

 **(MEANWHILE WITH SHOWTARO)**

Finding himself above from the others. The duck was able to finally see the overview of the maze. He have to say that whole thing was pretty huge! just as he had expected before.

Once he was up on the air, he finally began to survey and scanned the whole area. From a few miles away, he could see what appears to be an ending point. In that particular ending point a massive door in the shape of an arch stood.

"Gotcha!" Showtaro exclaimed as soon as he saw the doorway. He then darted his eyes towards other areas and saw large groups of enemies heading to where they were now.

Afterwards, He immediately drew or summoned out a certain light blue pill, to which instantly swallowed. A few moments later, he felt surge inside of him and his whole body began to glow and emitted a light blue light.

His real intention was to give light and act as a guide for the two.

"I just hope you get this message."

* * *

 **(Interview)**

 **"It was the only way that I can think off. Out of this hundreds of ideas, only seemed possible to me, and I was confident that this will work out for the best of us."**

 **-Showtaro**

* * *

 **(MEANWHILE)**

Back from the below, the message has been received clearly.

Kaiga looked up and saw the bright blue light who was his duck companion. Moments later, the light began to flew towards a certain direction.

The Otsutsuki gave a small confident smile as he darted his eyes towards the boy." Hey kid, buckle up for a little bit alright?" He asked as he tapped the boy on the shoulder to get his attention further.

As for the boy, Mitsue's focus was slightly disturbed. He knew it was the Otsutsuki guy but why would he want to start a conversation at this time around?

He was about to turned around when he was suddenly grabbed and carried by the guy himself." Hey! Hold on a sec!" He exclaimed.

"Sorry kid, but let me take on this for awhile." Kaiga simply said as he then took a deep breath. He was preparing himself for something more different this time.

Mitsue was very confused. He gave this puzzled look while he was on the guy's back." "What do you mean by something di-" He was about to finish his sentence when he was suddenly cut as the Otsutsuki took with full speed.

Kaiga finished gathering himself as he channeled what was still left in him. It was an eventual success as he briefly braced himself." Hold on kid!" He exclaimed aloud before taking off in full speed.

It was locally known as" The Otsutsuki First Step"

The simple move was already deadly to begin with and by the time he took that first step. He immediately disappeared leaving a trail of dust behind.

It felt like riding a bullet train. Mitsue could feel the air try to penetrate his skin. His eyes weren't able to focus properly because of the speed and he was getting a little bit nausy since the directions were changing continuously.

He was on the verge of puking but was able to hold on for the rest of the journey.

* * *

 **(Interview)**

 **"I was really surprised when the two of them started working together and then I found myself on the passengers seat trying to keep myself from puking as there were more obstacles ahead."**

 **-Mitsue**

* * *

The hindrances ahead of them were often in the right timing.

There were times that they had to face a large of group of these mindless and blood thirsty experiments when they turned tona certain direction. Since being often outnumbered, the only thing that they could was to evade them. And by evading them, Kaiga had to used the walls of the corridors as second track.

Since his race possesed large amounts of chakra reserves, He was no exception." Okay, brace yourself for another kid." He informed the boy earlier as possible.

Mitsue could only tightened his grip and slightly closed his eyes. The little dust particles trying to penetrate his eyes were annoying and unsettling for him.

It didn't took long enough for the Otsutsuki to finally took the first few steps on the wall and boosted his speed. He gave a little adjustment and found himself running literally on the wall, spefically the right side. Mitsue's body was frozen during that whole stretch.

Probably, the most intense moment was that he himself had to slightly moved since the enemies were trying to get a hold on them by attempting to block their path. Some also tried to used old rusty sharp weapons and began throwing but only to narrowly missed them and hit the wall instead.

Once passing all of them. The last obstacle that they had to face was the number of ancient traps that were placed into the next areas.

Walls would randomly shift and moved, poisonous blades would be fired from the walls and large parts of the wall would collapse attempting to block their path again. These were some of the the many traps that they had to go through.

Although, all that it takes for them passed this test was through the eventual effort of Kaiga. Especially his Rinnegan, to which he only gained access just awhile ago, predicted of the many challenges ahead.

As the glowing bright blue light from Showtaro came to the last stage. The tension had died down for most of the part.

Mitsue was on the verge of fainting instead puking by the time they got to the last part of the journey. The boy had a very fast oriented experience. He wasn't sure if he wanted to do this stuff again, since it was risky yet somehow exciting.

Kaiga on the other hand felt a bit drained since all that running he did required a lot of his energy. He hadn't run for hundreds of years and he found himself being thrust into this mania.

The last part of the journey was the most uneventful one. They were only required to just passed through the last corridor which led them to the big entry point.

"Looks like it's over." Kaiga spoke for the first time as he placed the boy back on the ground.

"Yeah, I hope so." The still Dizzy and Wobbly Mitsue tried to walk normal as he could only to lose balance. Luckily, Kaiga was there to assist him as the two headed towards the huge door at the end.

Along the way, a conversation was formed between the two.

"Do you guys always argue like this?" Mitsue asked the first question.

Kaiga gave a small smirk and smile." Well, for most of the time." He replied. It seemed their friendship was filled with lots of complexity and some people may find that strange.

The boy raised both of his eyebrows." But you're still friends after that?" He asked.

Kaiga gave a small chuckle."Of course!" He said, before continuing." It's all simple friendly rivalry if you asked me." He explained, as he began to tell more of the story.

"Back then, we were these young students of the industry, who had the vision and ideals for a better future." He explained." We always debated on such things and wrote and published our ideas so that the rest of the public would know." He paused, trying to catch up to his breath.

Mitsue was confused, he blinked a couple of times before asking again." Wait on sec, where is your home by the way?" He raised an eyebrow.

"I guess you might haven't heard of this yet but I came the world of the Otsutsuki." He explained, expecting even more confusion from the boy.

"Otsutsuki?"

Kaiga simply nodded." Yes, it's basically a world where pale people with horns are obssesed with fruits and conquering places." He said as there was Embarrassment in his tone lf voice.

"Conquering places huh?"

Another nod once more." Yes, it's kind of a habit actually develop as years passed." He added." Especially for the Clan leaders and Higher Officials, they always had that eagerness to explore and colonized every world they stumbled upon." He said." Luckily, My family and I were exceptions." He added.

"So what does your family do?"

"Kaiga slightly closed his eyes as he recalled some of his past." Well, we were just a simple humble family living in the countryside." He said before continuing." I was a farmer's son and I spent my early years working in the fields and also pursuing my studies." He gave a nostalgic face." Despite, my family's simple goal of living a peaceful life, I was difference amongst them."

Mitsue blinked in surprised.

"I always had this dream of travelling to different places, and especially making it big into a certain industry." He paused to catch up his breath. "Journalism" He continued." I always read the newspapers and learned more about current events that happened around realms and of course The Pure Land."

"What's the Pure Land?" The boy asked.

Kaiga then took a deep breath, he knew once they get to that particular topic, the memories would slowly return to him." Well, The Pure Land is a place where the souls of the people from the Human world go to when they passed away." He explained." It's often known as the "Promise Land" since people from other realms would also go there to start a new life and make it big."

"Wait, so the dead and the living coexist in that world?" Mitsue asked.

Kaiga simply nodded." Something like that." He replied." Specifically, the people from the other realms could go and live there, but for a living human to be able to go to the Pure Land is quite impossible since it's a celestial plane." He explained.

There was a time when the Pure Land itself was situated in the Human world and that was before Chaos appeared and almost destroyed everything. Right after Kami gave his life to keep the world alive, the people who work alongside him formed the council that would eventually govern the rest of worlds.

The Pure Land itself separated from the Human world and became its own plane of existence itself. Eventually, it would have its own status as the richest and greatest world among the other realms and it maintained a system of equality. However, the short lived peace would soon end as conflicts would soon appear, mostly on the Human world.

Mitsue was trying to absorbed as much information as he can. He had no idea all about this stuff, but it was pretty cool to hear it. It seemed to be straight out from a world fantasy story and yet unbelievably all true.

"So how did you guys ended up here?" He asked.

There was moment of quietness that took over. Kaiga didn't want to relived those memories." Well, I was the first one to end up here." He replied, before continuing." During that time there was ongoing political unrest and at the same time, we were on the side of the opposition exposing the corruption inside the council as Journalist." He said.

"So what happened next?"

Kaiga took a deep breath." Well, long story short, the council ordered for a complete compromise and began arresting groups, who were leading the opposition." He explained." Showtaro was able to play a safe escape by being assigned to as a assistant to a council member while I continued to oppose them."

"And being the overconfident guy that I was, I pushed it too hard and one day I found myself being knocked out and taken to this place." He explained.

Mitsue raised both eyebrows." Wait, I thought this was a hideout for Orochimaru?" He asked.

"Well, according to Showtaro, yes this was indeed that guy's hideout but before that, this place was a prison." Kaiga simply said. He too was not aware that the whole place had been abandoned for a long time, not after long he was rescued by the duck himself.

"Wait, so he was the one that rescued you?" Mitsue asked. He also wondered on could one small talking duck dare to rescue one person in a dangerous place.

Kaiga simply nodded." Yes, He came here with a group of people." He said.

"A group of people? Where were the others?" The boy asked.

Kaiga gave a sigh." Well, they were Shinobi from a village called Konoha." He replied." They also wore their own respective headbands." He added.

For a few moments, the boy stared at the blank space. He was trying to recall a certain person to which he had met prior to earthquake.

"Sai-san.." He whispered.

Kaiga, on the other hand gave a slight puzzled face. It seemed that the boy was bothered by something." Hey kid are you alright?" He asked.

It was at this time that the boy snapped back to reality. He gave this wide eyes of realization." I think, Sai-san belonged to those group!" He exclaimed as he walked more faster.

"Let's hurry up!" The boy added.

Kaiga was taken by surprised as the boy suddenly had an energy boost." Hey wait up!" He said as he followed the kid towards the large exit point.

Finally ending the conversation.

* * *

 **(Interview)**

 **"I didn't know what gave him the energy to run again but I guess all that information he heard was enough to inspire him? Kids are really strange to be honest."**

 **-Kaiga**

* * *

 **(MEANWHILE)**

He finally accomplished his objective as Showtaro was able to guide the two towards the huge exit point. He knew that they were gonna make it eventually since his Otsutsuki friend was going to make sure that they'll escape the maze in one piece and they really did it.

There was a sense of proudness that surged within him. Even though, they would often butt heads on small things, they were still friends no matter what. They would eventually put aside their differences and worked together to solved any problem much like this.

He also felt a little bit guilty for taking too much charge on the situation. Even to the point of blaming him for any faults. That was one of the negative attitudes that the duck himself had besides being not putting trust on people that easily. It was really tough for him to trust or be friends with someone. He didn't like fake people, He can't even count the number times he was double crossed by these fake friends.

Kaiga, was the only one besides Miyuki, who he treated and looked up as a true friend. He was shocked when he heard the news that he was arrested and taken to somewhere where no one can find him. So he did everything just to find the guy and eventually he did.

The only thing that he regretted was that he had never apologize to him for every hurtful words that he said to him.

The current problem that he was worried about was getting themselves out of this place. They have been trapped here for more than hours now and it was obvious that someone was controlling the whole situation.

Could it be that guy with the white cloak?

He wasn't sure about it but he had the feeling since the beginning.

The duck stopped his flight as he landed on a certain open small hole on one of the huge chamber's walls. He wiped out the sweat from his head as the pill's effects had faded away and the glowing bright light died down.

He immediately proceeded to enter the whole as he noticed that there was another exit point at the end and a certain light. A small hope then grew inside of him, this maybe the way out eventually and he wasn't going to waste time.

* * *

 **(Interview)**

 **"It was pretty much a roller coaster ride. I hadn't flew that fast since...Well you guess it (Chuckles). I just hope this is last challenge that we'll ever face in this hell prison."**

 **-Showtaro**

* * *

 **(LATER ON)**

The huge entry point greeted the boy and the Otsutsuki with growing silence.

The massive arch shape doorway looked as if it was leading them to the final destination of their journey. There was also a wide inclined concrete steps just below the arch itself.

Mitsue was in awe by the time he saw the arch-shaped entry point. He can't recall if he had ever went here in the first place. By the looks of it, it seemed to looked like it came from ancient times, far more older than the entirety of the snake man's more modern hideout.

Kaiga chose to be calm and cautious. The Otsutsuki himself had now dedicated his entire time to be more vigilant and keeping the kid safe from danger. He was beginning to be more defensive and surprisingly, eager to fight anyone for the first time. The events prior to this one seemed to have brought his true Otsutsuki nature out for a little bit.

As the two entered the arch-shaped doorway, they were greeted by another massive chamber, but unlike the previous one, this chamber had no maze or obstacles but only a very vast concrete field that stretched towards a certain light located at the end.

There was also a second light coming from above. Apparently, there was a big open hole which had let the light of the sun passed through, thus giving light to the chamber.

Mitsue was the first one to noticed the light. His eyes widened in surprised and excitement." That's the final way out!" He exclaimed, pointing towards the same direction.

It appears that the source of the light was coming from a certain huge arch-shape doorway at the end. The true exit to be specific, It wasn't just the light but they could finally hear commotions going on outside.

Excitement would soon caught up to the boy as he planned on immediately heading off towards the end, although as he was about to take the first step, he was prevented by none other than the Otsutsuki himself.

"Don't rush yourself!" Kaiga scolded, as he grabbed the boy on the shoulders to prevent him from running." There could be traps ahead." He added.

A surprised Mitsue widened his eyes, he was about to protest but suddenly realized the other's statement. He instantly stop and calmed down. His mind went back to being cautious just like his Otsutsuki companion.

Kaiga gave out a sigh of relief.

As soon as he stepped foot in this last chamber, he suddenly felt a strong mysterious presence lurking around. He wasn't sure what was the presence true identity but it seemed to be so malevolent. He really wanted to boost this up so that they can escape immediately but two things hindered him from doing so. One reason was that he was out of chakra since using all of it back in the maze. The second was that they had to wait for Showtaro, but the duck still hasn't arrive yet.

The only thing that they could do now was to walk slowly towards the end of the chamber.

With the Otsutsuki guiding the kid from behind, the two proceeded to head towards the last exit in silence.

The journey throughout was quiet yet tense. Both of them could feel their own heart beating strong and because of the eerie silence itself, the two of them couldn't help but look around their surroundings to observed the place further.

The chamber, being massive like the previous one yet a more rounded version, was still surrounded by darkness which came from all corners. The light, which came from the sun was only located at the middle area.

While they were still in their silent journey, thoughts had managed to caught up with them.

Mitsue, with the most thoughts, gave out a simple sense of fear, yet he was able to make sure that he wouldn't panic right at this moment. His mind was giving him the worry of facing another setback. He just wanted to leave this place in one piece, he didn't want anymore hords of enemies chasing them or being trapped or lost again in a maze.

He just wished that all of this was finally over. Although, he already knew that he had to go through this for one final time before finally seeing the light of the day.

As for Kaiga, the Otsutsuki was more of keeping things under control right now. He didn't thought of any dangers that could possibly befall them later on. Yet, there was an ongoing doubt if he would ever make it alive. He knew his limits but could he go beyond that when the danger strikes?

* * *

 **(Interview)**

 **"This is the one and final chance that I had, to leave this place once and for all and I didn't want to waste it."**

 **-Mitsue**

 **"When we reached the last stage of the journey, We thought that it was all over since the exit was just right there and Showtaro would probably figure it out and could flew his way out through the giant hole from above.**

 **Although, there was one more challenge that we had to face."**

 **-Kaiga**

* * *

As the two continued their journey, they slowly found themselves reaching the middle part of the chamber, where most of the light resided.

Every step they took means one step closer to their goal. So in that moment they decided to go a little a faster. By the time they finally reached the area itself, they were greeted by the bright Sunny rays for the first time and an unusual site.

Right in the middle of the area stood three huge and wide round wooden logs which were attached on the ground. The three logs were a part of the sun's rays at his cast a shadow that stretched a few distances away and it stood taller than the average height of a tree. Apart from the usual normal aspects, there was also the final detail which was too horrifying to be even describe.

At the bottom of those giant logs, there were three individuals, who were tied on the logs. All of them didn't made a single move and all were facing down revealing that they were unconscious so to say.

The boy and the Otsutsuki's attention immediately switched towards them.

"Seemed to be prisoners. or maybe torture victims." Kaiga commented as he beckoned the boy to remain in his current position as he headed towards the three logs to investigate further.

As for the boy himself, Mitsue did as what he was told and remained in his current place. He watched the Otsutsuki, who was heading towards the three giant logs, in an attempt to free them from their prison. At this moment in time, the boy had took the time to relaxed for a bit. He stretched out his arms freely in the air.

He gave out a loud yawn and a few steps backwards. However, as he was about to take the first step, he found himself suddenly bumping into someone. "Oh sorry about that!" Mitsue immediately apoligized and proceeded to turn around.

It was that moment when he realized that there was actually no one behind him prior to this. His mind wondered the possibilities and only one thought came up to him. There was a sudden chill down his spine and he slowly turned around to face a certain silver haired man.

He stared at the man for a few moments, and before he could even speak, he was suddenly grabbed by the mouth.

* * *

 **(MEANWHILE)**

By the time Kaiga had arrived near the three giant logs, the Otsutsuki's eyes slowly widened in shock as he discovered a very gruesome site.

From what looks like three unconscious individuals eventually turned out to be lifeless bodies with their throats cut open and fresh remnants or portions of blood which spread across the dusty ground.

"What..!?" A startled and shocked Kaiga exclaimed.

This was very much horrifying for anyone to see. The Otsutsuki was reduced to being speechless at discovering this, Yet his mind continued to produced thoughts. He began to ask himself on who could have done this since the three individuals looked as if they were recently killed.

The question right now that continued to bother him.

Who or what was responsible for killing this people?

"I never really thought you idiots would come this far."

A female voice coming from above then interrupted his thoughts and the ongoing silence.

Kaiga immediately looked up as he shifted his attention towards the source from above. His eyes met a white cloaked figure standing on top of wooden log between the other two. The sun was briefly a hindrance to his vision but eventually he did managed to get a clear look at the newcomer.

There was slight wind that blew and the hood was finally removed.

A certain young lady, in her late teens to early twenties stood on top of the log. She had this silver hair that was bunned up into two pigtails, and a sharp vivid green eyes. She gave a very sadistic smile that would sent chills to anyone.

"Do you really wanna know how these poor people get the slitting treatment?" She asked a slight boring tone in her voice.

Kaiga tried to calm himself down in the midst of this unexpected confrontation. His thoughts were all over. He didn't knew what to say right now as he took a few steps back." W-Who are you?" He asked.

There was brief moment of quietness that passed by. The young lady gave an arrogant smirk as she decided to introduced herself eventually.

"The name is Yuko, and you should burn that in your mind.

* * *

 **(MEANWHILE)**

"What kind of small passageway is this!?"

Frustration and Annoyance, were the ones that took charge at this moment. Who knew that a normal looking passageway would turned out to be a hindrance for the duck from reaching up to the otherside.

It was one the things that left Showtaro baffled and confused. From the start, he was confident that he could go by that small passage way, which was located a distance above the main exit point. He wasn't expecting it to be that of a problem since he could fit in to it. Although, he was greeted by a very narrow passageway which revived his claustrophobia.

Basically, he just didn't like very narrow places to begin with. His eyes then darted towards the exit point and continued on.

"Almost there!"

* * *

 **(Interview)**

 **"I'm a claustrophobic, I really hated the fact that small passageway had punked me, yet I was already inside that thing."**

 **-Showtaro**

* * *

 **(MEANWHILE)**

The atmosphere had suddenly intesified with the appearance of the young lady. She brought a sadistic and menacing presence that almost paralyzed the Otsutsuki." Yuko." His mind was replaying the name for many times now. He somehow knew that name and he had written it on a book to which he hid somewhere in the Grand Library Of Suna.

"What's the matter? Cat got your tongue?"

His thoughts were interrupted once again by the young lady.

"No, I mean actually I uh..." Kaiga trailed off as he immediately remembered the boy." Mitsue!" He exclaimed as he turned quickly around only to face the boy being held at knife point by the ever familiar Kabuto Yakushi.

"Dammit!" Kaiga cussed. He rather more furious than shocked. Yet, he was confused on how he had not sense him prior before.

The boy stood still and didn't move a muscle since the sharp blade was already on his neck. One move and he could see himself getting slash by the man.

"Let him go!" Kaiga protested, while the young lady gave an amused face.

"Awww, looked at you, getting too emotional all of a sudden." Yuko taunting, with a sarcastic remark." Do you really want to escalate this into a drama?" She added.

Kaiga gritted his teeth." What the heck am I gonna do with this?" He thought to himself. He was having a tough time making the right decision. There would be no point if he tries to take on the silver haired lady. It would only signal her to order the boy's execution at hands of the other one.

So he had to looked into a different perspective. He tried to analyzed it further only to find out that he was really in a dire situation. The only thing he can do is to think of a new solution, a creative one to get himself on the track, a risky one to save the boy.

"Escalate the drama eh?" Kaiga opened his mouth and finally replied, with booming confidence, which surprised the lady." Why don't you go first? piggy tails!" He gave a taunt for the first time, even though it was pretty much corny to his eyes.

Yuko's eyes twitch in irritation." What did you call me?" She asked, giving a slight offended expression.

Surprised hit the Otsutsuki, He never knew that his corny comment would somehow triggered her. So he tried to push it again." I said piggy tails, you little brat!" He added and yelled back at her.

There was quietness that took over suddenly.

Kaiga found himself in the midst of this silence and anticipating on what could happen next. It did happened less than a second.

The silver haired lady, had been looking down for awhile. It was something that baffled the Otsutsuki himself. Was she just trying to control her anger? It must be.

By the time, Kaiga could open his mouth, the lady brought up her head revealing cold menacing eyes.

"Nobody calls me little brat!" She said in a very calm yet creepy manner.

By the time, she had said her line, she suddenly vanished from her current position leaving the other surprised. Kaiga widened his eyes in surprised as he found himself staring at the empty air.

In that moment, the Otsutsuki began to blink a number of times. The first and second blinks were uneventful but by the time he gave the third blink, the young lady has now reappeared in front of him in a flash.

"Never call me that, Otsutsuki." Yuko replied again with a calm manner. There was no trace of her playful antics. Only a blade in her hand as she made the first quick move by attempting to stab him on the chest.

A startled Kaiga was taken by surprised as he found himself almost getting stab on the chest, Luckily, his reflexes saved him as he reacted to the attack by grabbing the girl's hand prevent the time from touching his skin.

"This girl's strength!" He commented to himself. He was surprised on how this girl possessed so much strength. Any Human would already die from that one single move. It was only his Otsutsuki anatomy saved him.

There was struggle that had transpired as Kaiga tried to resist the blade from piercing him while the girl was pushing it further to gain advantage. Yet, she had other things in mind.

She gave a sarcastic grin.

"Oh, How I could forget, silly me." Yuko said as she brought her other hand up summoning another blade and using it to strike the Otsutsuki on the cheek this time with full blinding speed.

Instead of grabbing the other hand, Kaiga chose to let go and jumped away from the silver haired lady, nearly being hit by the blade once again. He stayed in his current position unaffected for a short time.

 **"Lucky dodge!** "

As soon as he had evaded the attack, Yuko immediately charged at him for the second time. Kaiga's rinnegan activated and predicted what was going to happen next. Having the step ahead of the young lady, the Otsutsuki proceeded to make any move possible to counter her earlier, his best bet was allow her to attack him first so that then he can counter the attack based on the Rinnegan's prediction.

* * *

 **(Interview)**

 **"To say it again, I really don't have experience on fighting or hand to hand combat. I only depend on what is practical. Having the Rinnegan is a new experience for me and I felt like a noob when using it."**

 **-Kaiga**

* * *

Going with that direction, Kaiga braced himself for another series of fast dodging but he didn't expect for the girl vanish right in front of him in a glitch." No way!" He widened his eyes in surprised.

"That Rinnegan of yours is trash!"

Yuko once again taunted as she quickly went for the go ahead strike from behind.

In the last second, Kaiga had managed to squeezed in, turning around before the blade could penetrate his back but in the midst of that, his shoulder acted as the shield and the blade was able to touch him, tearing out his a piece of his cloth and giving him his first wound.

"Shit!" Kaiga winced in pain because of the damaged that he had taken. His mind continued to focus and he saw the lady still going for second strike. He tried to counter it but the other was just too fast.

Yuko grinned as she went for another strike, this time slashing the guy on his left waist and performing a powerful side kick which sent the guy towards a distance.

Mitsue was screaming inside his mind. No matter how much he wanted to help him, he was still held at knife point and one move he would find himself getting slit on the throat. He could only hope for the best.

Kaiga landed and slided on the ground as gave out a cringed. He was caught off guard by the lady's move." Damn, She moves like a glitch." He commented as he started recovering up.

As for Yuko, the silver haired lady headed towards the Otsutsuki with a sadistic and arrogant smile." Tough luck! I haven't fought an Otsutsuki in awhile." She gave out a snicker.

"Those guys are really weirdoes, I tell ya." She commented in a casual tone of voice." Although, you're different from the rest of them." She smiled.

She, in fact surprised that an Otsutsuki like him didn't knew how to fight, and that he could even speak like any normal person. Most Otsutsukis speak like old grumpy people. She wondered on how old was this guy. He looked as if he had been isolation for a long time.

It was obvious.

Kaiga gritted his teeth but was able to retain his smirk." Yeah, so what?" He said." You're not the type of person that anyone wants to be friends with." He gave another taunt, knowing the consequences that could befall him this time.

By the time he had made the comment, a blade, which was thrown by the silver haired lady, nearly hit him on the face.

"You just won't stop do you?" Yuko threatened the guy. If he really wanted to get hurt so badly, so be it.

Kaiga gave a smirk." I could do this all day." He replied back as he recovered from the ground. He was still wobbly as he gripped his hands to form a fist. He then gave out an off balance fighting stance.

Yuko could only shake her head in amusement." What a loser." She commented. She really had no choice now, the guy was asking for it and she will make sure that he would be close to death's door.

* * *

 **(MEANWHILE)**

Catching his breath for the last time, Showtaro finally reached the end of the small passageway. He had been stuck there for almost thirty minutes and it was relief that he was able to overcome his claustrophobia during that stretch.

"I'm *Grasp* Not gonna do that *Grasp* again!"

He told himself as he finally breathed the air that he was looking for." Finally made it!" The duck exclaimed.

By that time, his mind went back to focus and he found himself watching and observing a chaotic site. From above, he could see the Otsutsuki fighting against a unfamiliar silver haired lady, and the boy, Mitsue currently being held hostage by Kabuto.

"You've got to be kidding me!"

He was both shocked and surprised. He didn't expect that a lot would already happened during his journey through the small passageway.

As he continued to observed, there were details that he had noticed to which was really terrible for him. Half of Kaiga's body was already covered in red and he was struggling to keep up.

Showtaro knew that he had to do something right now. He had to come up with a plan to destroy their momentum. His eyes were moving back forth between the boy and the Otsutsuki.

Who should he save first?

Going directly towards the main fight will definitely cause some unexpected trouble. As for saving the boy, there was still chance that he could intercept the silver haired man. But it would be a one time risky move.

He took a deep breath as he summoned a certain silver pill once more." You got only one shot at this." He told himself as began aiming at the silver haired man.

He needed that right position to execute his move. He hoped for the man to slightly move or turned around a bit to which he did one moment later.

* * *

 **(Interview)**

 **"I was stuck on deciding on who should I save first, let alone that both of them could be facing a potential death. I needed that third option, and then I figure if that option won't come, I create one for myself.**

 **So when that time comes, I immediately swallowed the silver pill and took off just like that."**

 **-Showtaro**

* * *

 **(MEANWHILE)**

Kaiga was breathless.

The Otsutsuki fell to his knees once more. The fight was so intense and fast pace that, he wasn't aware that he had taken several cuts and stabs from the silver haired lady. He could feel multiple pains all over and his worn out clothes were half covered by his own blood.

He had no weapons, just his bare hands and wits. He had spent the whole time, evading, dodging, and taking hits to himself. He only had little less chance of attacking and when he did get the opportunity, he would only find his offense being backfired.

He knew that his body was failing, the expectation of losing was there. He needed to take a step back and rethink about his strategy. He didn't need to push himself there once again and fight. He was going to use his wits this time.

His eyes moved towards his small old peach colored pouch. He slowly reached inside and drew out a certain a seed. His mind was on overdrive thinking if he should already use it. If he did, it will be end of this whole chamber. No survivors.

He gave a sigh, placed the idea aside for later on. He went back again to planning. It was at this time that he had saw blood scattered all over the ground. It was his blood and the other three lifeless prisoners. An idea then came into his mind.

This portion of blood was already enough for him to do a certain forbidden summoning. So far, what he needed was a distraction so that he could perform it. As the silver haired lady was approaching was once again, his time was running out.

"Dammit!" Kaiga gritted his teeth in frustration. He could only hope for a miracle to happen.

When he moved his eyes around once more, he saw what appears to be a certain duck heading towards them. A glimmer of hope came and he was given a signal to summon.

Yuko was triumphant yet, confused. She had been killing this guy and yet, still he won't give up. She was surprised of the Otsutsuki's toughness but her pride immediately took over and she dismissed it as just mere luck. So far, no one has survived her torture methods this far.

"Had enough?" She asked, a smirk forming around her lips. This was already the most merciful thing that she could do but mercy was for the weak and she planned on something more.

The young lady then, rose up her hand and point a certain direction. A few moments later, sparks of lightning appeared throughout the whole chamber, the remnants of the darkness had faded away to reveal an army of mindless twisted experiments awaiting for orders.

"You know, sometimes I really like to play power. Haven't really experience what it likes to command your own army." She gave a sadistic grin. When She and the rest joined his organization, they were vested with their own powers, she herself included.

This was the final stage of her torture. She wanted to see how the Otsutsuki will handle this.

There was silence that took over for a brief moment. The Otsutsuki didn't said a word or replied thereafter. He just stayed there in his current position.

Yuko, who was already on the verge of giving orders, gave a delightful smile. Even, she knew her promise on not to kill in this mission, she was still eager to push it a little bit more. As she was about to finally give her orders, something unexpected happened.

 _ **"Not so fast!"**_

A certain familiar voice was heard aloud, followed by loud smack.

Both of them were startled and turned their attention towards the spot where the brainwashed Kabuto was holding the kid hostage.

Apparently, the scene had changed as the silver haired man was suddenly knocked out By a certain Showtaro, who had came out from nowhere in blinding speed, tackling the man directly on head, which sent him towards a distance finally freeing the boy.

"Mitsue! Are you alright?" Showtaro asked as the duck immediately rushed to the boy, who luckily untouched, leaving the now unconscious Kabuto on the ground.

"Yeah, I'm fine." The boy replied.

* * *

 **(Interview)**

 **"The silver pill, which I had taken, can boost up your speed a hundred times faster than any living thing and it turned out to be the right decision to attack silver four eyes."**

 **-Showtaro**

* * *

By the time, the long awaited option had appeared, Kaiga finally went into full action, as he placed his hands on the ground, which was filled with portions of blood. Soon, markings began to appear on the ground to form a giant circular symbol of his clan.

Everyone kept watch at new scene unfolding. Mitsue was in awe on what was happening in front of him, while Showtaro was a bit surprised to see that his friend had done the unthinkable, and Yuko being the unnerved girl she was, wasn't intimidated.

The giant circular symbol, grew brightly as it summoned a huge creature. It has a large, egg-shaped head with small spikes protruding from the top alongside a single spike on its chin, as well as a large mouth containing human-like teeth and a single eye with black, white-like markings around it. It also appears to have two small arms as well.

The huge creature then turned towards the Otsutsuki and like any other pet, it expressed its loyalty.

"It's been a long time, Aki" A smile went across his lips.

Mitsue was raised both eyebrows in awe." What the heck is that thing?" He asked, observing the somehow cute giant.

Showtaro then gave a chuckle." That's Aki, Kaiga's pet." He explained. Simply meaning that the huge monster in front of them was in fact a tailed beast. A minature beta version.

"You mean, that's his pet for a long time?" Mitsue asked.

Showtaro nodded." Yes, Every Otsutsuki owns a tailed beast as a pet, maybe just miniature versions of them." He explained further. He recalled the first time he saw "Aki" and it was a cute yet terrifying experience since it tried lick him with its huge tongue.

* * *

 **(Interview)**

 **"By the time, he summoned Aki, I was already terrified for the enemy, especially that bitch, who was giving us a hard time."**

 **-Showtaro**

* * *

 **(MEANWHILE)**

The atmosphere had change as the tides have drastically turned. With the appearance of the mini tailed beast, it just encouraged Yuko, to go to a more bloody direction.

"Awww, I've could have that as a pet." She cheerfully commented, before turning into a full-blown sarcastic psycho." I want one!" She added as she finally gave the signal for her own army to attack them in full force.

"Kill em!"

In a simultenous manner, the army of controlled experiments charged towards them in full speed. Contributing to the rising panic of Mitsue and Showtaro.

"There so many of them!" The boy commented, as he turned to the duck." We need to get Kaiga-san and hurry to the exit!" He said.

Showtaro kept calm and called out the boy." That might be already too late, Mitsue." He said, beckoning the boy to look at the direction where the exit was located.

Apparently, the enemy had gotten ahead of them. The exit would be eventually blocked by Yuko herself, who ordered for the exit's destruction and blockage by commanding the bigger experiments.

It seemed that the mini tailed beast wasn't enough to take on the large army that the silver haired lady assembled. Not all that, the rest of experiments, from the mazes, had caught up and were in the area as well.

However, there was still hope for the good side as "Aki" wasn't only the ones that was summoned, there were also groups of white humanoids, which were also summoned and came out from the symbol to support the lone tailed beast.

This white humanoids, slightly resembled a familiar character.

It didn't took long enough, as both forces clashed, and began a bloody battle. Chaos would quickly spread across the whole chamber and moments later, they found themselves in the midst of a full blown conflict.

"Man, we're in a freaking war!" Mitsue commented. This was the first time he had been into this kind for years.

"You bet!" Showtaro commented. His eyes were focused on his Otsutsuki friend. He was just standing there in a calm manner, and he can't even sense any worry from him.

The duck narrowed his eyes in skepticism." What are you trying to do, Kaiga?" He asked himself.

* * *

 **(Interview)**

 **"There was really something going on with him. I really can't tell how or what was on his mind at that time. He seemed to be in peace with something."**

 **-Showtaro**

* * *

 **(LATER ON)**

The battle between forces continued on.

Bodies were falling and flying around. Even Aki, the mini tailed beast, was fond of facing against the larger experiments, who held weapons larger than a normal giant axe. It saw itself grabbing and smashing them like toys. it also even took a bite when he grabbed one of them.

As for the medium division, the white humanoids also had tricks up their sleeves as there weapons were their own bare hands, shape shifting into their desired types of arsenals. They clashed against the controlled experiments, which were on par with their power.

In the midst of all that, Yuko found herself inside a scene considered to be one of her dream come trues. It felt as if she was back in the old days, where "War" was the famous word in every place. This only fueled her excitement as she decided to participate.

 **"Lightning Release."**

This time upgrading her arsenal, her once normal blades began to change as huge powerful sparks of lightning were channeled through both blades and both transformed into larger versions.

A single white humanoid then found itself approaching the silver haired lady. As it was about to strike her, it found itself getting sliced in half in a matter of seconds along with lightning sparkling as an after effect.

Yuko, didn't even flinched when she met her first victim. She simply sliced the white humanoid in half as if it was just a piece of soft bread.

Another one came rushing from behind, and the young lady simply raised up her blade above. The blade, which was already covered with lightning suddenly expanded and stretched directly towards the head of the humanoid, instantly impaling it in the head, killing it.

A third one came, and this time she threw the lightning blade towards the next humanoid, instantly blowing it up in half, after that, the blade came back to her like a boomerang and she caught with ease.

There were countless more that came to fight her and all of them met the same fate as the last three. If anyone were there to witness that specific scene, they might as well run for their lives already.

Unfortunately, for Mitsue and Showtaro, they were there to witness all of it. In fact, they found themselves trying hard on evading the fight as possible, yet the fight was chasing them. There was one time that they had to stay down or else they may get caught by the crossfires. They also have to avoid several bodies flying everywhere.

"We need to find a safe zone!" Showtaro exclaimed amidst the loud explosions and crashes.

As for Mitsue, he wasted no time as he moved his eyes around in an attempt to locate any safe spots away from the main battle. It didn't took long enough for him to be able to find one." Over there!" He yelled, beckoning the duck to follow him as they crawl their way towards the safe zone.

* * *

 **(Interview)**

 **"It was something scary yet thrilling at the same time. We were all on alert mode since we might get turned into pancakes by those huge bodies."(Chuckles)**

 **-Mitsue**

 **"When we got to the safe zone, our minds shifted back on finding Kaiga, In the midst of that chaos and all, it really gave us the hard time and Aki was the only link at that time since he's connected to his owner."**

 **-Showtaro**

* * *

 **(MEANWHILE)**

As the fight continued to rage on, Yuko found herself still wandering and moving her eyes around the chaotic area. Her target was the Otsutsuki himself, who had somehow hid himself away from her sight.

This is only made the young lady show her arrogant sadistic smile once more as she loved being the hunter. She was on a little Otsutsuki hunt, and she also gripped her two blades on her hands, in readiness to strike anyone who dared to attack her.

"Where is that good for nothing celestial idiot?"

A comment slip up from the young lady's mouth. She seemed to be wondering the guy's whereabouts already. She narrowed her eyes on every spot she came into and she still can't even locate the Otsutsuki yet.

She continued to search for him once more and she eventually found herself on a certain spot, where the lifeless bodies of the humanoids and experiments where scattered all over.

She slowly walked throughout as she attempted to sense his presence, to which she did eventually from behind.

There was something heading towards her direction from behind. Yuko gave the smirk as she turned to quickly face another white humanoid, who had charged towards her. The young lady made a quick set as she destroyed the humanoid with ease." Heh!

I thought He was-" She was about to finish her sentence when something unexpected happen.

 ***BAM***

Kaiga quickly appeared from her other side and gave a strong punch which sent her from a distance, letting her other weapon, which dropped on the ground. The Otsutsuki then grabbed one of the blades as he hurried his way towards the lady to incapacitate her.

By the time, he had reached the spot, the silver haired lady suddenly recovered in a matter of seconds and was able to attack the man once more.

Kaiga dodge the first strike and countered it his own and this time, he gave all his might just to strike her down. He did managed to get an opening and without wasting anytime, he immediately stabbed the young lady on the chest.

Yuko widened her eyes in suprised, as she really felt the sharp blade pieced through her chest. For the first time, She felt pain in many years. She took a few steps back as she held her chest in pain, there a portion of blood coming out from her. She slowly put her head and seemed to lose consciousness.

Right from other side, reactions from Showtaro and Mitsue varied from joy as they could finally see a victory being gained. The only thing that they could do right now, is to leave this place. Even though the only exit is blocked, their going to make a way out of here.

The tension suddenly died down, Kaiga felt a relief that rose up from inside of him. It seemed that all was finally over as the main commander of the enemy army has been defeated. The only objective that he could do now is leave with the rest.

He moved his eyes around and upwards and saw the big opening above. He finally had an idea on how to escape this place. He turned his attention towards Showtaro from a distance gave him an eye contact.

"It's time to go guys." Kaiga muttered aloud as he proceeded to head towards the two.

However, as he was about to take the first step, he suddenly felt a sharp object, which pierced through him from behind. He widened his eyes in shocked thereafter.

"Awww, I guess you fell for it." A female voice then cooed.

Right from behind, was Yuko, sadistically grinning in victory. Apparently, the damage that she received had no effect on her. She even removed her white cloak to reveal an black battle outfit, which seemed to belong to an old era, and the massive wound, which she had sustained had been healed by a certain green essence.

The lightning blade, which pierced him had also expanded towards the giant tailed beast which also pierced it. There was a loud roar that came from the giant and as soon as the blade went through it, it started to use an unknown power which began to drain Aki's power.

* * *

 **(Interview)**

 **"I was really happy that I managed to showcase my acting skills! No one can really get away from me that easily. (Giggles)**

 **-Yuko**

* * *

"You think, no one can kill a tailed beast?" She commented." You Otsutsukis are total idiots!" She added, grinning from ear to ear.

Mitsue and Showtaro, who were heading towards the same direction suddenly stopped their tracks in shock. They both gave horrified expressions. Showtaro, who was the most affected, tried to yell out but there was nothing coming out from his voice.

Yet, his mind began to recall the memories of a distant past.

"N-No way!" Kaiga muttered as he could feel his body going all numb. Although, in a nick of time, he was able to perform one final move.

"A-Aki." He called out to the loyal tailed beast as it immediately grabbed the silver haired lady as if she was soft ball.

"What the...!?"

Yuko was caught up by surprised as she suddenly found herself being grabbed by a huge hand, as well as getting repeatedly smashed on the ground, and in a matter of seconds, the tailed beast threw her upwards, destroying a small area on the chamber's large ceiling, sending her flying away towards the sky.

Finally defeating her in the most unexpected and brief way.

It also resulted, the course of the battle changing, with the army of experiments without a leader, they were freed from control but still they were their own mindless and murderous selves and with Aki, severely wounded and weakened, he can't be able to handle the endless attacks of the enemy.

* * *

 **(Interview)**

 **"It was a big win and relief when the psycho girl was finally gone, Although, it made situation more worst since, the experiments, without any guide, had gone out of control and became even more murderous."**

 **-Showtaro**

* * *

 **(LATER ON)**

"Kaiga-san!"

With the majority of the battle finally over, the two quickly rushed towards the wounded Otsutsuki, who had managed to slowly recover from the ground.

"Kaiga!" Showtaro exclaimed, by the time he and the boy arrived at the spot." Stay with me!" He added.

The two then assisted and brought the wounded Otsutsuki towards a safer area near the huge tailed beast, which was still contuining to defend them from attacking enemies.

From there, they planned out on what will be the next step.

"Let me see, your wound." Showtaro asked, as he immediately checked his Otsutsuki friend, who was still conscious.

The wound that the man sustained was so severe that the latter had to cover it with his own hands, to keep himself from losing so much blood. This wound was done by no ordinary human.

Showtaro's was mind was on overdrive as he attempted his best to fight for his friend's life. A wound like this could be instantly healed by the red pill, a healing item hailing from the Pure Land itself. So the duck began rummaging through his celestial inventory, and due to unfortunate events, he wasn't able to find one.

"Dammit, Dammit!" Showtaro cursed in frustration. He wasn't going to give up nor lose any hope.

Mitsue could only watch helplessly as this was already beyond his power. He too was also saddened and couldn't even stop his tears from flowing.

For Kaiga, the guy seemed to be not worried. He was just giving this assuring smile to the both of them, especially his duck companion." D-Don't worry about me, I'm fine." He said, before continuing." What matter is that you guys should leave this place before it's too late."

"No No! You're coming with us!" Showtaro protested. He kept on believing that there was still hope, He was not going take this burden bull shit. But, As much as he wanted to give all his efforts, the Otsutsuki simply shook his head and declined.

Kaiga kept his smile. He respected his friend's opinion and decision but based on the current situation, everything was already too late. The enemy was already gaining advantage and it's only a matter of time before things could get worst.

The Otsutsuki didn't said any more words but looked straight towards Showtaro's eyes. It mean't to tell him that everything was going to be alright.

Showtaro was in denial but eventually, he would accept it. The fact that he won't be able to save his friend.

* * *

 **(Interview)**

 **"I really didn't know what to do at that point with the exception of hoping that there would be a way out of this. Although, Fate is sometimes crueler than the worst enemies out there."**

 **-Showtaro**

* * *

 **(SACRIFICE)**

Time was officially running out for them. Most of the white humanoids were being outnumbered by the countless large groups of enemies, who were already fast approaching them.

As much as Showtaro thought of any ideas and ways as a means to a possible escape, he was already too late.

However, for his Otsutsuki friend, He had something different in mind. Kaiga drew out a small pouch from his pocket, he took out a a piece of seed and observed it. He took a deep breath as he knew if he swallowed this, there was no going back. For the meantime, he placed the seed back into his pouch.

He either die a hero or live long enough to see himself become another victim.

"Aki." He called out the mini tailed beast, who immediately turned to them. Sensing its master's instructions, the beast then placed its massive hand on the ground, giving the two an opportunity to step on it.

Mitsue and Showtaro proceeded on to step and hopped on the giant hand. Both of them were quiet and especially for the duck, who fought to keep his emotions from taking over him.

"Please, don't push it too much." Kaiga, with a smile, instructed the tailed beast to be careful.

It was also at this time, that Showtaro had taken the little time that he had to just bid the Otsutsuki a goodbye by flying towards him, giving him one last hug and a fist bump. At this moment in time, the emotions were already visible from the duck.

Kaiga continued to smile." You didn't fail, remember that." He said, passing the torch to the duck to continue on the fight." I'm sorry for being an idiot sometimes." He said.

"And I'm sorry for being such a jerk all the time." The duck replied, finally apologizing to him.

Showtaro, who was already in tears, nodded and headed back towards the giant hand. He then received a comforting pat from the boy.

"Take care you two!" Kaiga had said his farewell to them as the Otsutsuki gave them a little salute.

By this time, Aki proceeded to make his move as the tailed beast slowly lifted up the hand, that was carrying the two onboard. In a matter of moments, he finally released a little force which sent the two flying towards the open hole from above.

As the world around him slowed down, Kaiga found himself watching the experiments, as they closed up on him. In that moment in time, he drew out a certain seed from his small old pouch. He briefly observed the seed

"No turning back." He commented as he proceeded to swallow it.

He then moved closer towards the mini tailed beast and gave him a pat." Looks like we'll be having a blast." He said as he looked upwards just to see the two for one final time as the countdown finally started.

He gave one last smile, before the seed took effect and the whole place was completely taken over by a suddden powerful explosion.

* * *

 **(MEANWHILE)**

The world around them slowed down from their own perspectives, Showtaro and Mitsue, were able to get a good look of what had transpired from below.

From the duck's accounts he saw the last of his Otsutsuki friend, who gave one last smile before being engulfed by a huge bright light, which was revealed to be a part of the explosion that engulfed the entire chamber.

As for Mitsue, the boy had the same account but later switch onto a new scene to which he had noticed.

From a certain corner, was the still unconscious Kabuto Yakushi, facing the ground. There was nothing unusual until moments later when a bright light suddenly appeared in front of the silver haired man and took him away afterwards.

Mitsue widened his surprised, he blinked a couple of times and saw the silver haired man really gone from that spot. This is only gave more confusion to the boy. What was that all about and what was that mysterious bright light?

* * *

 **(Interview)**

 **"I'm not really sure if Showtaro-san had saw that, Although, I think it wasn't too important to bother."**

 **-Mitsue**

* * *

It didn't took long enough for them to finally reached the top and entered the open hole, which finally gave them the real escape that they were looking for.

They were immediately greeted by the light of the sun and the tense atmosphere. They found themselves in the middle of the air and with the possiblity of falling down.

It was at this time that Showtaro, summoned a chakra pill and immediately swallowed it. Moments later, he felt the energy surging up inside of him and he transformed into a larger version of himself. The one that he previously transformed into.

"Hey Kid!." He then yelled towards the boy, who quickly noticed him, giving a very surprised look.

Despite the many questions going around in his head, Mitsue did as what he was told and grabbed the bow giant duck. Later on, he was finally on the back.

"Hold on tight kid!" Showtaro exclaimed as he then gained control and finally flew towards the safer grounds, specifically the direction where the rest are.

Mitsue simply nodded and gripped his hands on the duck. As they finally head towards the next stage of their journey.

It was official that they had finally found a way out of the hideout after countless hours of searching, fighting, and sacrificing. It was a part of the journey that the two will never forget.

Showtaro was still silent but his mind was active. He was still thinking about his friend's sacrifice and eventual death. He was now furious to the ones responsible for making his friend go through suffering and being imprisoned for a long time.

He closed his eyes as he could only recall the good memories when they were still journalist.

* * *

 **(Interview)**

 **"Well, I just try not to think about it all the time, it's still fresh in my mind, yet I had no choice but to just accept it and continue on. It's matter of survival in this harsh reality.**

 **And I have to focus on my main mission."**

 **-Showtaro**

* * *

 **(MEANWHILE)**

"Sarada"

By the time, the Uchiha girl heard her name being called again, she didn't react and still kept her guard up. As she can recall, she remembered introducing herself briefly when she first met her teenage Papa. She won't fell for any tricks anymore and not even this. The only thing that surprised her was the way her teenage Papa had said her name.

Boruto, on the other hand, had the same thoughts as his raven haired teammate. He gripped the girl's hands as a message, telling her to never let her guard down yet. He was having the same cautious feeling as anyone else.

Sai, on the other hand, had gotten himself ready once more as prepared to defend the rookies in case if the Uchiha attacks again." What are you trying to do?" Sai muttered to himself, his hands were still shaking.

Back on the main field, silence had entered the scene once more. Sarada gripped her hands into fist as she prepared for another fight. This time, she was going to chidori him if he ever tries to lay hands on her blonde teammate.

As everyone was expecting the same scenario to happen, they got a different outcome instead.

Sasuke stood there ignoring the hostile expressions that he was receiving. He focus his eyes on the raven haired rookie and still kept his smile.

"You're still the cute little peanut, I remember."

He spoke once again, which finally shocked the raven haired teen.

Sarada froze as she widened her eyes in shock and disbelief." Little Peanut? How could he...? There's no way!" She was in denial. That certain term to which she heard years back

"No, this can't be really him!" She thought to herself. Her heart was beating fast right now. She was in between denial and believing as she slowly let her guard down.

Both Boruto and Sai were taken over by confusion. They didn't know what was happening right at the moment.

At the same time, Sasuke took a few steps forward as he raised up his hand to reach for the raven haired girl. He too also felt nervous, he didn't know what to do with the exception of pulling her into a warm embrace to which he did in the end.

Everyone was taken by shocked as Sasuke Uchiha, the former Shinobi turned dangerous rogue, drop his blade and pulled the rookie into a huge embrace."

As for Sasuke, the guy didn't care about anymore reactions or surprises. All He wanted was just to hug the raven haired rookie because of the simple fact that it's been so long and he didn't get the chance to see her again.

His little princess, his daughter.

Sarada raised both her hands in awkwardness and surprise. She didn't know what to do right now, with the exception of letting out another comment.

"Uhmm, this is really weird!"

* * *

 **(Interview)**

 **"It was probably the most weirdest and shocking moment of my life so far. Seeing him act like a brooding person with avenger issues, and then later turning into a whole different person all of a sudden, it just make me wonder if this scene really did happened originally in the past.**

 **It really doesn't make any sense to me."**

 **-Sarada.**

* * *

 **(Chapter End)**

 **AN: Thank you for reading the chapter:)**


	69. Special Chapter: The Park

I **don't own Naruto. Mr Kishimoto Does.**

 **Author's note: Hey there Readers!, Looks like we've finally entered Arc 3! I Hope you guys enjoy! I would also like to thank you guys for the Reviews. Favorites, and follows :)**

 **AN: This Special Chapter takes place at the same time as the events of the Sasuke Retrieval Arc.**

 **Also, feel free to share some of your ideas for future chapters.**

 **Expect some grammar and spelling mistakes along the way.**

 **Thank you for Understanding :)**

* * *

 **Arc 3: Phase 2**

 **Special Chapter: The Park**

 _"Things are much quieter nowadays or Maybe that's just in my head."_

The wind grew strong passing through the moving trees. It was a sunny yet windy day in the public park. The highlight of it was the quiet and peaceful atmosphere. Something that Miyuki preferred to be in such places everywhere she went.

She sat down on the bench to which she had stumbled upon while she was taking a stroll. It had been an hour passed and it was finally the right time to take a break from walking. She also held a certain snack in the form of a lone ice cream, which she bought from a small Ice cream stall.

Miyuki had a little annoyed face that was slowly fading away. Apparently, she had a tough time of buying her snack since the stall itself was surrounded by a big number of children. Children, who were about the same height as her and were more hyperactive than ever. She was even mistaken for a child like she often does and she really looked like a child.

An adult in a young child's body.

She gave sigh as she rested her head on the bench. Thoughts would soon began to entertain her once again. There was a puddle of water near her in front of her and she easily could see her reflection.

A pale short haired little girl.

She had no choice. It was the form that she had taken after she had resigned from the council and before she left the Pure Land. She intentionally left behind her old self because it only brought the bad memories and failure that she coudn't achieved the goals that Kami had entrusted to her and him a long time ago.

Even though, she already had one of the highest positions in the system, she still couldn't achieved the changes that needed to be done. It was one sided situation. Her goals and ideals were different from the rest of the council.

Most of them were already blinded by their own selfishness which caused them focus more on matters that really wouldn't solved the current problems faced by the Pure Land, the other worlds, and especially, the Human world itself. It was only until her longtime friend had taken advantage of that and created his own solution.

Right now, the world has been put into this temporary peace yet in the brink of having a world war once again.

Not only that, Miyuki found herself handling the full responsibility of preventing a possible world wide destruction in the near future. She was basically going against every enemy that is existing and also having the limited chess pieces in this sick game of Destiny orchestrated by none other than him.

She discovered and learned out that there will be these certain events that will apparently have a crucial impact towards this so called "Plan". She still haven't figured out it yet but the possible theory about the plan is that it was supposed to be "Grand" and that will end all the major conflicts and problems around.

For Miyuki, she had the feeling that this plan would eventually be in line with "Extremism" and "Genocide." A total annihilation to balanced reality itself. Something that she hasn't seen since and during the reign and destruction caused by Chaos, which nearly wiped out every existing living and non-living thing.

As she focused her attention on the small puddle of water, the wind grew stronger affecting it, causing small ripples. She then noticed that her reflection was slowly changing. A few moments after that, she found herself staring at an old familiar face which hadn't seen for a very long time.

Instead of a little girl looking back at her, it was a beautiful short haired young woman with eyes that could really slow a person's world by just staring at it. She had to admit that were a lot of endless attempts from guys, who courted her and risk everything just to win her heart.

All of them got busted but in a good way.

For a several moments, she observed herself. A small smile slip on her lips as she remembered certain memories. It was quite surreal for her to think that there was a time where everything was alright. She recalled how everyone was willing to work together for the sake of peace and progress.

It was during that time when the word "Unity" was still relevant and a certain friend took that word to his heart.

She gave another sigh as more thoughts came into her mind. Just a night ago, a certain friend made a surprise visit and by no means, he was only there just to greet and to check if she was alright. It was something that she would always expect from him. Even though, they have their own differences, the friendship was still there.

Miyuki could sense that he really cared for her well being, with the exception that he won't stop just to fulfill his own plans.

So she also told him that she will be a hindrance to that plan and will do anything to stop it, which brought her to the fact that she had no big help nor the enough resources to prevent it. Yet, she made sure that she will have her own pieces to control in the form of a certain trio of teens.

"Hope for the best."

That was the only response that she had received from him. It seemed that he was giving her a head start since there were no assasins or any attempts on eliminating her from the face of this world.

Should she call it a merciful gift?

 **"Miyuki-san!"**

A familiar voice of a teenage girl called up to her name.

Miyuki was suddenly brought back to reality as she turned her head up find herself staring at a certain short haired dark blue haired teen, with bright and warm smile on her face." Himawari." She said with a surprised tone.

"What a surprised! I never thought you'd be in a place like this." She commented with a slight smile.

"What brought you here by the way?" She added.

The sun was shining through the Uzumaki teen. She had a bright smile on her face that can light up a person's day. She was donning a different outfit this time, with a thin light yellow bomber jacket covering a peach shirt, and light blue pants. Lastly, she had a small waist bag to which was strapped on to her.

Himawari simply nodded as she gave out a grin." Well, Let's just say I came back from a very long window shopping session at the main district."

* * *

 **(A LITTLE LATER ON)**

The day continued on uneventful with the exception of the two having a conversation in the midst of a windy day.

Miyuki had to admit that it was a good convenience that she had someone to talk to in this times of quietness. She was clearly not the friendly and outgoing type of person. She would often focused on her work and let alone slowly neglecting the social aspect of her life which was slowly fading away.

Luckily, there was the Uzumaki girl, who suddenly came along and appeared out of nowhere. Whenever someone's day would be filled with disappointments and worries, she would just be there coincidentally with a time to even talked about it and sort it out.

A person with that kind of character are often considered to be very rare until now. It was just luck that made this happened.

"I'm sorry, I haven't had the time to talk to you properly." Himawari apologize, closing her eyes with a little cringed.

Miyuki nodded in understanding. The last time they crossed paths was back in the festival about a day ago. She still recalled a nervous dark blue haired teen asking for advice on how she would handle a certain situation involving a young Hyuuga Heiress.

A small smile formed across her lips.

"It's alright, I knew you had a business to take care of." She said, before continuing." In addition, it's also my duty to help young kids like you to have confidence to handle situation problems." She added, giving the teen a look.

Himawari gave out a slight chuckle." And It's my job to listen and take those advices to heart." She commented, which caused the other to give her own little laugh.

There was brief moment of quietness that took over before Miyuki followed up the second question.

"So did you managed to handle it well?" She asked, referring to the previous situation from yesterday.

Himawari gave small smile and nod." Well, I guess could call it a Blessing and a Miracle at the same time." She replied, before continuing on." A Blessing, because I was able to see and spend time with mom again." She then paused." A Miracle, because my Aunt and Uncle were there to support me." She explained, those two were also responsible for giving her the courage to be able to put aside her negative thoughts.

A single tear fell from her eye when she recalled that wonderful time.

Miyuki had noticed this as she drew out a brand new sachet of tissue paper to which the Uzumaki teen gladly accepted." I guess it was a wonderful reunion!" She gave her own comment.

"It really was." Himawari simply nodded." And I never knew my mom would be that type of a very sociable person." She added.

By this time, confusion entered the scene as Miyuki gave a puzzled look." What do you mean, you never knew?" She asked.

Quietness took over once more. Himawari took a deep breath as she began to explain the weird things that she had noticed about her teenage mom recently" Well, for starters, I was always been told by my Aunt Hanabi that my mom was a very shy person during her younger years." She said.

"You mean, your mom was an introvert back in the day?" Miyuki raised an eyebrow as she tried to clarify the teen's statement.

Himawari gave a nod along with a shrugged. At the same time, some of her own thoughts began to cloud her mind again. She wondered if she was really was imagining things and her mom was always that kind of person. But at the same time, it was hard to believe since pretty much everybody was telling her the same testimony.

Not only that, from what she had learned, her teenage mom had been experiencing these strange dreams and visions of unknown memories to which she had no Idea where it came from. In times, these dreams would somehow affect her life a little, in a way of changing an aspect of her personality. Such as giving her a sudden confidence boost or a change in preference and hobbies. She occasionally even wore a type of civilian clothing similar to the style when she was nineteen!

It was just a part of the main problem that had Himawari a little worried. She wasn't hesitant to asked this question.

"Do you think it has something to do with us going back in time?" The Uzumaki girl finally asked. There was little worry growing inside of her. There was a small fear that if she and the rest were to change most of the past, it could severely affect their future.

There was quietness that took over once again. Miyuki was baffled yet interested on the topic. She was also beginning to wonder if it really has something to do with the time travel aspect. Further, thoughts brought him to the Jougan in the end. It was the only possible case so far. Maybe the eye itself also had the ability of bringing in some of their parents' memories when they travelled back.

"I guess it could be a possible answer but..." Miyuki suddenly trailed off from her sentence. She had just realized something. _"No, that's not even possible_." She thought to herself as she tried to deny that simple possible fact.

There was something more to it and she could not decide whether to believed in that theory.

As for Himawari, she was even more confused yet curious right now. Her whole body didn't move as she waited for a response. What could be that possible fact or missing link?

Another silence took over once again.

Miyuki was hesitant to tell the girl about this. This revelation could be the possible truth someday but it was still early to consider this as the reason on why these recent dreams and visions were happening to the Hyuuga girl.

It didn't matter though, she needed to know this so that she can prepare herself and the other two in the near future.

She then took a deep breath. Looking directly at her in the eyes." I'm not really sure on should I explain this but, I think it really has something to do with the travelling back to the past aspect." She explained while the girl nodded in understanding.

Taking another deep breath, Miyuki then proceeded to explain her theory.

"The Jougan, when activated to its full power, would only react to those who are still living." She explained, before continuing on" And during that time when it was triggered, it somehow brought the memories of your parents along and those memories were directly implemented to the younger versions of your parents." She paused.

Himawari was losing her words and becoming speechless, although she managed to open her mouth again." So you mean, they're only memories that came along right?" She asked.

Miyuki gave a little nod." Well we can consider it for now." She said before continuing." There's also a possibility that those memories are not even memories at all."

Himawari raised both eyebrows in confusion." What do you mean by that Miyuki-san?" She asked. This topic was really turning her head upside down, as much as she wanted to discuss more about this.

As for Miyuki herself, the young woman gazed upon the sky for a brief moment before turning her attention to the lavender haired haired teen. She closed her eyes for a moment, clearing her throat before finally revealing the revelation.

"It's possible that your parents' mind or at least a part of their souls had somehow been transferred into their younger selves hence the occasional headaches and visions or maybe their souls had returned from the future beyond and won't stay down."

Silence once again had took over.

This finally reduced Himawari, she was now loss for words and as she absorbed the new information which had been revealed to her. It was very hard to believe this kind of revelation.

Was it really possible for her parents' souls to be reincarnated or reborn into their younger selves?

The available evidence was right in front of her and it was really scaring for a little bit. She rested and leaned on the bench as she thought of any idea on how will this affect the past and their current lives.

If this was really true, then she had no choice but to spend more time with her teenage mom and get to the bottom of this mystery. She gave this little grin of deny as she slowly shook her head.

As for Miyuki, she gave the teen an encouraging look. "Well, there's only one way to find out." She replied.

Another silence then took over once more, the wind grew blew stronger this time, giving the way for another topic to be discussed.

Himawari took a deep breath as she finally recalled another thought that she wanted to share to the other.

"Uhmm, I also wanted to tell you about something."

Miyuki, who was still gazing at the blue sky asked." Yes, what is it about?"

"Have you ever experienced the feeling of being followed?" She asked.

By the time, she had heard that certain statement, the black haired lady quickly turned her focus towards the younger girl." You mean that someone's stalking you?" She asked, being surprised the girl's statement.

Himawari simply nodded." Yeah, something like that." She said, before continuing." And it really is giving me the creeps.

"When did this stalking thing start?" Miyuki asked, wanting to know more information. She had that slight guess that the enemy was responsible for this.

Himawari scratched her chin and attempted to recall the events which led to this." Well, I really can't remember the exact details but what I do recall is that after I visited the Ramen shop, I started sensing that someone was following me." She explained and continued." And just about today, while I was strolling along the village, I kept seeing two figures."

Miyuki raised an eyebrow." Two figures?" She muttered." Have you tried using your Byakugan on them?" She asked.

Himawari simply nodded." I did, but when I activated it, these figures would be gone immediately." She explained, still wondering about those mysterious figures.

"Oh I see." Miyuki nodded in understanding. Just what or who were these figures? This was very much alarming and she needed to figured it out.

She had the responsibility of keeping the lavender haired girl safe away from the enemy's move.

Every passing moment, the wind grew stronger around the park. While the lavender haired teen was left to wonder the mystery, Miyuki somehow had figured out a part of the mystery.

In that moment in time, she suddenly felt a presence around the area, specifically in one of the areas where the bushes and trees where located. In fact the area was just right in front of them.

Finally sensing the mystery presence that had been bothering the young Uzumaki girl.

The young woman from the Pure land, narrowed her eyes on two certain spots, which were just a few distances away from each other. She gave this slight threatening look projecting a small part of her wrath towards those so called mystery stalker.

"You think you could get away that easily?"

* * *

 **(MEANWHILE)**

A slight pinch of crimson red could be seen moving along the bushes as a certain small nine tailed fox froze all the way instantly sensing that supposedly menacing aura to which he had received from the little girl.

Kurama's eyes widened in surpised as he never expected for his presence to be immediately detected by the little girl. This was best way he could to conceal all of his aura and energy and yet he epically failed to do so.

 **"How's that even possible!?** " He exclaimed inside his head.

This was the one time opportunity that he could get to the bottom of this. His curiosity fully took over and he left the third's grandson back at the district, pondering his own whereabouts once again. This was indeed the chance that he was waiting for yet only to get his cover blown just like that.

His eyes focused once more at the little girl, who was now looking at his direction. Somehow, the little girl was very familiar. He tried to search through his memories and found out that the girl was the one who he had stumbled upon during the food festival not too long ago.

He was brought back to reality once more as he found the little girl looking directly at his eyes from that distant a far. She gave this small smile and flashed her eyebrows towards him.

This gave Kurama the creeps as slight chill went up on his spine. He could feel his furs standing up and he wondered once more about this mysterious little girl. She seemed to have that old and mature nature.

" **Just who or what was she?"**

* * *

 **(MEANWHILE)**

It was another sunny yet slightly eventful day for one Itachi Uchiha. He had been searching through every corner of the village looking for that mystery girl, that visited the shop earlier. By the time she had left, the poor man was left ponder about her traces and whereabouts.

An hour already had passed and still, he hasn't given up yet. The man found himself walking along a certain street with eyes of an eagle. There was one time that he caught a glimpse of the girl and followed her traces to the streets, there was also a time when he was finally nearing her yet, he was unable to reach her since fate had ordered the crowds to grew and naturally hindered his search.

Itachi gave a sigh as he stopped his tracks on a certain street. He moved his eyes once more surveying his surroundings in an attempt to locate the girl.

" **Hey man! Wait Up!"**

A familiar voice then called up to him and he turned around to see his blue skinned companion, who was chasing his breath." Will ya slow down!? You're walking too fast!" Kisame complained.

Itachi could only sigh once more." Sorry about that Kisame-san." He apologized, before returning back to surveying.

Kisame felt exhausted. He had been keeping his eyes up on the Uchiha, yet he was just too fast and slick that it made him now dizzy by just traversing through the streets. He just wanted to stop the search right now, since there was no chance that they could locate the girl.

"It's useless man! _***Gasp***_ We won't be able find her here." He said." The last place we could look for her is in a park or whatsoever." He explained, randomly blurting out a suggestion that could possibly not help the situation at hand.

Itachi paid no heed to his rumblings and focused on his survey, yet he took note of what the blue skinned man said about a park here. It didn't take too long enough for him to stop looking around and saw a certain pathway leading up to a wide park in the middle of the busy district.

He stopped for awhile and thought about it for a few seconds before finally proceeding to head towards the certain park.

"Hey wait up!" Kisame asked." Where are you going?" He added.

As for Itachi, the man just turned around and beckoned his blue skinned companion with a small smile to follow him." To the Park of course!" He simply said.

Kisame could only roll his eyes in complaint as he had no choice but to force himself once more to follow the Uchiha. He was supposed to be at the inn, taking a good nap, yet he was here being somekind of babysitter and could only blurt out his comments.

"You've got to be kidding me!"

 **(SPECIAL CHAPTER END)**

* * *

 **AN: Thank you for reading the chapter!**


	70. Arc 3 Phase 2: Retreat

**I don't own Naruto. Mr Kishimoto Does.**

 **Author's note: Hey there Readers!, Welcome to Arc 3 Phase 2. I Hope you guys enjoy! I would also like to thank you guys for the Reviews. Favorites, and follows :)**

 **Take note: We tackle the final events of the confrontation between Team 7 and Sasuke. With the Uchiha's character suddenly changing to everyone's shocked. How will Boruto and Sarada handle and react to this sudden turned of events?**

 **Expect some grammar and spelling mistakes along the way.**

 **Thank you for Understanding :)**

 **P.S**

 **I also have a new story called "Resurrection" The story is about the dead mysteriously coming back to life years after the war. Feel free to check out the story:)**

* * *

 **Arc 3: Phase 2**

 **Chapter 33: Retreat**

 **"Papa**!"

 _Sasuke turned his attention from reading his book and saw a certain little raven haired girl, who was calling up to him a few inches away from the bench that he was currently sitting on._

 _"Sarada, is something the matter?" The man asked as he placed book beside him and leaned closer towards his daughter._

 _There was brief quietness from the girl as she slowly gathered herself, taking a deep breath and as she then grabbed her father's hand and led him to a certain area in the park._

 _The sun was shining in the early afternoon along with the wind, which blew by the trees._

 _Sasuke, confused and surprised, found himself being forced by his daughter to follow her towards a certain spot at the park. The spot was revealed to be a small open field, where a group of chunins most of them girls, were currently training. By the time, they got there, he found himself witnessing these Genins destroying a handful of training logs by single punching them with incredible strength._

 _For a few moments, He stared at the scene unfolding. The girls really reminded him of Sakura very much, but in comparison with his wife, they were lesser, yet it blessed him with more memories from the past._

 _"Papa?"_

 _He turned his attention once more to his daughter, who was now giving him a very curious and hopeful look._

 _"Do you think I can be strong like them someday?" Sarada asked._

 _Hearing those words, a small smile slipped across the man's lips as he knelt down and placed a hand on his daughter's shoulder." Of course! More stronger than them actually!" He said, before continuing. "Why do you asked?"_

 _Sarada gave a sigh as she slightly looked down." Well, is because Mama actually." She explained." A lot of people really looked up to her, even my friends at the academy." She said." I just wanted to know if someday I could be like her?"_

 _A respected Medic-nin and Shinobi all over the world and a woman, who can destroy even the largest of natural formations with her strength._

 _These were just one of the qualities that the raven haired girl found endearing. Her mother was just as famous as the Seventh Hokage along with the other heroes of the great war._

 _Sasuke could only nod in understanding and support his daughter." You're already reached that level." He said." As long as you can punch hard." He added, with a small smile._

 _Sarada raised both of her eyebrows." Really? Do you think I could be a strong as a puncher like Mama?" She asked, recalling that her mother accidentally destroyed their home once and they were forced to move in to an apartment._

 _"Of course! You'll be, when you grow up." Sasuke replied and assured her. He then brought up his hand in front of the little girl." Here, try to punch my hand as hard as you can." He said._

 _For about a few moments, Sarada stared at her father trying to figure out on what he was trying to do right now. It didn't took long enough for her to understood it and soon a small gleam of motivation began to rise up from inside._

 _She narrowed her eyes, determined to be strong someday, she threw her first little strong punch on her father's hand. Three times she attempted to threw her punches. The first punch that she threw was to release all the doubts of progressing as a strong Shinobi, that continue to remain in her childhood life._

 _The second punch was stronger than the first one, trying to release herself from the shadows of her parents. She was going to established her own legacy someday._

 _Sasuke continued to proudly smile at her daughter as he could really see the determination in her eyes. As the third and last punch was given, he could see an image of her daughter, finally grown up and had matured into a beautiful young woman._

 _As for Sarada, she finally gave her last punch releasing herself from her own fantasy and brought her back to reality. Her world was slowly changing in front of her and she finally got to let out her words._

 _"Someday, I'll be stronger."_

* * *

 **(PRESENT DAY)**

The world around them came into a crash.

In a unexpected turn of events, Sarada had finally took action as she appeared in front of her teenage father. Wasting no time and immediately unleashing a strong haymaker which instantly sent him flying towards several distances and crashing into a portion rock debris.

At the same time, the dark essence surrounding him finally vanished.

A huge sound of a crash was heard all over, there were trails that formed on the ground leading up to main site where a certain raven haired Uchiha currently laid on certain boulder, shocked and defeated by an unknown teenage girl.

The sun and the blue sky were the only things that he could see in front of him. He continued to gazed above along with his thoughts, who gave him a lot of questions and confusions.

"H-How's this even possible?" Sasuke thought to himself. His face still had the bewildered expression as he wondered the possiblity of losing to a nobody. He didn't lose to anyone for years...

In fact he did lose to a nobody, who was also a girl. That was the reality now and he had no choice to but to accept it.

Doubts and frustration soon started to get into him. What was the purpose of all these trainings? How was he going to achieve his goal of killing his big brother? That he found himself losing to a bunch of nobodies!

This all didn't make sense for him, it seemed that everything was just trying to tear down the hard work and dedication that he put into his goal. His goal to avenge them, his parents, his family, his whole clan from the certain person that took away all of them.

"This is not what I dreamed off."

"I won't let this happen!"

His pride was trying to win him back once more. Telling him to get up and continue to fight, yet his whole body won't cooperate with him in a mysterious way. No matter how he tried or force himself to do so, he still found himself at the mercy of quietness surrounding him.

In somehow or someway, he felt a mysterious peace growing inside of him. He can't even explain what was happening right now. His mind continued to be active, yet began changing. Instead of his usual thoughts, it began showing him the mysterious memories once more...

The sun was shining and he found himself at arriving at the gates approaching two certain individuals front of him. The two were revealed to be a pink haired woman and a raven haired little girl. He can't see their faces clearly but he could eventually hear their voices calling out to him.

" _Welcome back Papa, I miss you!"_ The little girl said, which took him by surprised.

" _Welcome home, Sasuke-kun..."_

The last voice shocked him the most, because he recognized that very voice.

"S-Sakura?" He muttered to himself as he tried to decode if that was really the girl's voice. It sounded like the pink haired teen yet it was somehow more mature than her current voice.

As he neared the two, his world began to change once more and he found himself back into reality, gazing at the blue sky while the silence was still in toe with him.

Several moments later, he heard footsteps coming from a distance. He could feel a presence approaching him and he wasn't sure of the presence but he expected it to be one of the Leaf Shinobi or Orochimaru himself.

Although, what he got was far more different than what he had expected.

As soon as the footsteps reached to him, a silhouette of a man appeared right in front of him. His identity was partially blocked by the sunlight yet he could see a good view on what the man had looked like.

The man was wearing light blue sleeved shirt with grey cuffs, black pants and a black cloak covering all over him. He had the same dark raven hair and a face to which eerily looked familiar to him.

Sasuke tried observed the man despite the sunlight. He felt helpless right now, yet he wanted to recover as immediately as possible and afterwards...

" _What I am going to do?"_ Sasuke asked himself, before focusing his attention towards the mystery man, who stood in front of him.

There was silence that took over between him and the man. The wind grew strong and dust continued to settle in. Sasuke continued to stare and observed him.

As for the mystery man, he gave a small smile." **I told you, if you keep pushing it, you're gonna end often like this, Sasuke.** " He said.

Sasuke slightly looked away, and gave a small guilty look." It doesn't matter, I can hold my own." He replied, with the last of his pride." And I don't need your advice." He said.

There was a slight chuckle that came from the man." **Trust me! you're gonna need it."**

He simply said." **You always find ways of getting yourself hurt everyday, don't you?"** He followed.

Sasuke didn't reply for several moments. He spended more time with his thoughts as he recalled every chance that he took just to get stronger. Even, let himself be experimented and beaten up to acquire more power. He left the village because he thought the life and people were the main reasons on why he was struggling. It was one of things holding him back from his goal.

As much as he wanted to go to the best path. He had no choice but to choose alternate way. For years he wanted to strived without getting hurt in all aspects, He honestly didn't want to experience the pain, yet he was here suffering from an ultimate defeat and from a certain nightmare of failure.

Why does everything seemed to hurt him?

Sasuke then opened his mouth to speak." I guess that's the whole truth, I am destined to experience hurt and failure." He said, as he turned his eyes on a certain blade beside him." I don't want this anymore." He added.

His mind directing towards a certain way of ending his suffering, He began to reached for the blade. Grabbing it and bringing it towards his throat, he wanted to make sure that it was quick and swift. Although, as he was about to proceed to it, he was suddenly prevented by the mystery man, who kneeled before him and carefully snatch the blade away from him.

A shocked Sasuke then stared at the man, his identity finally revealing a familiar eyes. His vision was still blurred by the brightness, yet he was slowly recognizing the man's face.

 **"The truth is, everybody is going to hurt you, you just got to find the ones worth suffering for."**

The man said with a smile." **You don't have to come all the way here to just to achieve your goals."** He added." **Trust me, there are a lot of things in store for you than this**." He finished his statement as he reached for the teen's hand.

Sasuke was loss for words as he absorbed the words. He didn't know how to respond to this let alone watch his pride getting destroyed in front of him. At the same time, the memories began to reappear in front of his eyes. Memories of a wonderful family living their lives together in a peaceful village. Memories, that were considered long lasting and a treasure.

The raven haired teen then brought his upwards once more and saw the man, who was now offering hand to help him recover from the ground.

 **"Don't worry everything's going to be alright."** The man smiled and assured the teen.

For a few moments, quietness took over the Uchiha, he felt nervousness growing inside of him for the first time. He was uncertain of what will happen afterwards, yet he recalled a certain blonde's words from years ago.

 **"** _The strongest people don't always win, but the people who don't give up when they lose."_

Having finally realizing that this wasn't the way. The Uchiha turned his attention back towards the man, the light was still shining upon them as the teen now slowly raised up his hand and took the offer.

As he finally recovered from the ground, he was able to asked one final question before he was engulfed by the bright light.

"W-Who are you?" He asked." I mean, what's you're name?"

As for the man, he gave him a smile, as he placed his hand on the teen's shoulder.

 **"I am Sasuke Uchiha Of the Leaf Village**."

By the time the man had introduced himself to the teen, the bright light grew stronger and fully overwhelmed them and their surroundings.

* * *

 **(MEANWHILE)**

Silence had took charge once more.

The sound of the rustling wind was the dominating force around the area, after a certain battle had concluded, He found himself finally recovering from his fall. On his feet once again, Sasuke observed his newfound surroundings with surprise and awkwardness.

"W-Where am I?" He asked himself, moving his eyes around." This place looks familiar." He added.

This was the first time, he had a direct feel of the cold air and the scent of his current surroundings. The Uchiha felt free for the first time as he brought up his hand and took a brief observation of it. He then raised up his other hand which gave him the shock of his life.

"Two? I thought I only had one!" He secretly thought to himself, Confusion was slowly taking over. Was he really heaven? Or Was he just inside a dream?

It was pretty much impossible for him to have two arms, since he lost one to a certain blonde many years ago. There was no way he could have two since he himself refused to have the artificial arm just like dobe. Unless there was something that happened which he couldn't explain.

His eyes moved around once more and darted directly towards to the front to see a site he had not seen for a long time. His widened in surprised.

"This place..." He said as his mind began to act once again.

He knew this place, because he had been here before. The stage of the day along with the current scenery gave him the clues that he need and immediately realized on what has happened.

Soon the memories, came back and he recalled what had transpired before. He slowly raised up his hand towards his cheek and held an area where a fresh bruised was located. By the time, he had touched the bruised, an image then flashed before his eyes of a certain raven haired girl that was responsible for giving him that bruise.

The familiar face of the girl.

 ** _"S-Sarada."_** He muttered to himself as his eyes caught her and the rest on the middle of the ruins.

He slowly moved his feet and began walking towards the area with anticipation and hope in his eyes. He could feel his legs trembling in nervousness as he approached, yet he was able to compose himself.

At the same time, his mind was still continuing to send him flashes of memories and this time he remembered a certain blonde kid, who he had fought not too long ago.

"B-Boruto." He muttered the name, since he caught a glimpse of him in the middle, and he was laying on the ground, to which really surprised him.

Soon, he began to realize the damages around him. Shocked came into his eyes as he wondered on what had transpired before. Did an actual battle took place recently? By the looks of it, it was really obvious. Multiple debris were scattered everywhere, which all seemed to belong to a more larger structure.

The roof perhaps.

Then an image flashed before his eyes, showing him what had actually happened. Basically, he was the one responsible for the unknown explosion. He began to shake his head in disbelief and wondered if all of these are the truth.

He began to walk faster in hopes that he could learn more further. He was determined to reached that particular area, where the others were located. He wanted to have a at least a proper conversation despite the possible hostility that he was expecting.

He wanted to check if they were alright.

* * *

 **(MEANWHILE)**

Sai cringed in pain as he struggled to get up from the ground. He could feel his hand and legs shaking and he really felt weakened by the ordeal. He bore a great disappointment for not taking action since the injuries were too much for him. He grabbed a certain huge boulder that acted his support on his way to standing up.

Along the way, his thoughts came up to him once again. He blamed himself for not being too careful during the fight. He could've fought calmly but he was too eager on defeating the Uchiha right away and hence why there was no teamwork just now.

He couldn't go back in time and redo it all again. There was no possibility of a second chance to redeem himself again, although he did his part during the battle.

However, by the time he got up, he suddenly felt a presence approaching him and he turned to his left to face Sasuke himself, who was slowly walking and limping towards his direction.

At this rate, nervousness had took over as Sai widened his eyes in little panic. He was shaking all over as he tried to think of any solution. So far he was getting a lot of ideas yet, his body won't cooperate with him.

As Sasuke neared his spot, the panic increased as he attempted to walk away with his weakened legs. It doesn't matter if he can still feel the pain as long as he can escape. However, it was already too late as the Uchiha was able to catch up to him.

"Damn!" Sai gritted his teeth as he had no choice but to be on his defensive stance as he brace himself for a possible onslaught again.

His heart beat was getting faster and he held his breath along with a serious expression. He closed his fist as he prepared to fight another battle.

As time passed by, the possible fight that he was expecting didn't come into fruition. Apparently, Sasuke simply walked passed by him without doing anything to him. Sai was even more confused to what had happened just now. He focused his eyes on the raven haired teen, who was heading back towards the main area, where the rookies where currently at.

Worry soon began to raised up for Sai, His thoughts were telling and warning him about the raven haired Uchiha once again. Yet, he cannot sense any danger or threat from him which was strange.

* * *

 **(MEANWHILE)**

The short-lived peace would soon be interrupted.

Sarada slowly and carefully assisted her teammate on his way to recover up from the ground. She had apparently started healing him although due to the dangerous circumstances of more enemies arriving in the area, she had decided to take the rest of the group out to a safe place.

Although, it would take a lot of work since she had to gather the rest of the team members to a safe spot.

Both rookies, who were about to leave area when they suddenly were interrupted yet again. Both turned their heads towards their current direction only to face The young Uchiha teen once again.

"How's this even possible!?" Boruto gave a quiet little whine." You already punch him hard on the face Dattebasa!" He added, while wondering how the heck did the guy recover so fast after receiving a possible death punch from his teammate.

Sarada just rolled her eyes and gently placed the blonde on the ground. To be truthful, she already had enough of this, if this was what the teen really wanted, so be it. She was going to give him one more round as she positioned herself into her fighting stance.

As for the other, He had something different in mind.

Silence had took over once again. Everybody was holding their breaths off. They all wondered on what was going to be his next move. The only possible scenario is that they had in mind was that will orchestrate another attack again.

Sarada foresaw that and prepared herself. Although, something unexpected followed after that which really surprised her.

By the time her raven haired counterpart had finally caught up. He stopped his tracks a few meters away from her and brought his head up, showing a very different expression.

A small worried but genuine smile.

Sarada narrowed her eyes, she wasn't falling for any kind of smile tricks made famous by Sai. Although, as she continued to observed him, especially the face that he was showing, she noticed something different.

It was the eyes as if she was staring into a whole new person.

She wouldn't say that it was a completely different one since it was still the young Sasuke Uchiha from the outside. But the way those eyes potrayed itself, it was much more older, mature, and weary.

The last thing that she noticed was the whole expression itself. The expression of the raven haired teen, was the same kind of expression that she had seen many times from her Papa, everytime when worry takes over him. This was the final detail that finally opened the can and spilled the revelation.

Sarada slowly let her guard down as she thought of anything to say. But before she could even speak, she was beaten to it by none other than the raven haired teen himself.

As for Sasuke, He finally gain the courage to speak and open his lips to say his eventual word which was revealed to be a certain name.

"Sarada." He called out to her.

His first word, It was the only thing that he could say right now. He was being more observant rather than choosing to talk altogether for awhile.

By the time, the Uchiha girl heard her name being called again, she didn't react and still kept her guard up. As she can recall, she remembered introducing herself briefly when she first met her teenage Papa. She won't fell for any tricks anymore and not even this. The only thing that surprised her was the way her teenage Papa had said her name.

Boruto, on the other hand, had the same thoughts as his raven haired teammate. He gripped the girl's hands as a message, telling her to never let her guard down yet. He was having the same cautious feeling as anyone else.

Sai, on the other hand, had gotten himself ready once more as prepared to defend the rookies in case if the Uchiha attacks again." What are you trying to do?" Sai muttered to himself, his hands were still shaking.

Back on the main field, silence had entered the scene once more. Sarada gripped her hands into fist as she prepared for another fight. This time, she was going to chidori him if he ever tries to lay hands on her blonde teammate.

As everyone was expecting the same scenario to happen, they got a different outcome instead.

Sasuke stood there ignoring the hostile expressions that he was receiving. He focus his eyes on the raven haired rookie and still kept his smile.

"You're still the cute little peanut, I remember."

He spoke once again, which finally shocked the raven haired teen.

Sarada froze as she widened her eyes in shock and disbelief." Little Peanut? How could he...? There's no way!" She was in denial. That certain term to which she heard years back

"No, this can't be really him!" She thought to herself. Her heart was beating fast right now. She was in between denial and believing as she slowly let her guard down.

Both Boruto and Sai were taken over by confusion. They didn't know what was happening right at the moment.

At the same time, Sasuke took a few steps forward as he raised up his hand to reach for the raven haired girl. He too also felt nervous, he didn't know what to do with the exception of pulling her into a warm embrace to which he did in the end.

Everyone was taken by shocked as Sasuke Uchiha, the former Shinobi turned dangerous rogue, drop his blade and pulled the rookie into a huge embrace."

As for Sasuke, the guy didn't care about anymore reactions or surprises. All He wanted was just to hug the raven haired rookie because of the simple fact that it's been so long and he didn't get the chance to see her again.

His little princess, his daughter.

Sarada raised both her hands in awkwardness and surprise. She didn't know what to do right now, with the exception of letting out another comment.

 _"Uhmm, this is really weird!_ " She thought to herself, at the scene of getting hugged by a younger Sasuke Uchiha, who was supposed to be cruel and dangerous.

* * *

 **(Interview)**

 **"Until now, I considered it as one of the most awkward moments throughout my entire life. Who wouldn't be creeped out that a 15 something year old evil version of Papa, just started hugging you as if you were his lost daughter."**

 **-Sarada**

* * *

It was one of the things that continued to baffle the Uchiha girl since just awhile ago, the younger version of her father tried to kill Boruto and the rest of the team without hesitation.

Her mind was stuck between believing and not believing, since this could be possibly just a ploy or a trap. She didn't knew how to react or whatsoever as of now.

" _There's no way this could be actually Papa?"_ She thought herself while still in the midst of being hug. Her mind trying to decipher all the possible questions right now. She could see the fact that guy had no bad intentions yet a part of her was telling to be alert and not fully trust him yet.

Unbeknownst to her, the hug had slightly grown tighter and the guy was actually sobbing secretly on her shoulders.

" ** _I-It's been... so... long_**." She could hear a faint mutter of words coming from the latter. Another evidence to support the other possibility.

After several minutes of hugging, raven haired teen slowly let go his hug just to get a good look at the girl. Sasuke was both surprised and shocked, surprised because he wasn't expecting to reunite with his daughter this soon, and shocked since she looked far different the last time he had saw her when he left the village for his last mission.

He remembered seeing her as this girl in her early teens and yet he was now seeing her as a young beautiful lady in her mid to late teens.

"You've grown so much Sarada." He commented as he continued to observed her." You looked like just you're mother when she was at this age." He added, still amazed on what he was seeing." For most of the part."

As for the other, hearing his statement was the turning point. This is how her Papa would talk such things about her Mama back then and until now. It wasn't just the eyes or how he acted right now, but the overall aura that she was witnessing altogether.

"B-But how?" She finally let out her words, still giving a slight baffled look.

The teen just shook his head slowly." I don't know..." He replied, trailing off afterwards and wondering on he had ended up here. The last time he recalled, he was sent on a mission by the Seventh to investigate a consipracy by an unknown enemy force, assumed to be Otsutsuki then...

 **"Alright! cut the bullshit! Dattebasa!"**

A very familiar voice then exclaimed aloud. Both of them turned towards the source of the voice to immediately see a certain blonde heading towards them with frustration.

Despite, the injuries Boruto limped his way towards them. Impatient and Protective, he was eager to get straight through this mess as he finally reached his destination." Sarada! Get away from him!" He then pulled his raven haired teammate away from the man, pointing a finger towards him.

"Hey listen up! If you lay hands on her, I'l make sure-" Boruto was furious. Acting like any other overprotective boyfriend or friend would do.

"Boruto, wait you don't understand!" Sarada tried to reasoned with her teammate.

"I got this Sarada! This younger versi- I mean this guy is trying to molest you and I won't allow him to hurt you again!" He argued, this was a whole different story for him. Even though, this was the younger version of his Sensei, he won't back down since he hated seeing his teammate get violated.

* * *

 **(Interview)**

 **"This is probably the worst thing any human can do and it really triggered me. To say it again, I won't allow such a thing happen."**

 **-Boruto**

* * *

Sarada sighed, trying her best to be calm "He is not what you think he is!" She said, trying to keep the blonde from charging at the man.

Sasuke stood there in surprise. He was amused yet bewildered from what was happening in front of him." Molest?" He muttered to himself. He would never do such a thing to any girl and even to his daughter.

He stood there, not doing anything against a furious blonde.

"If you don't start talking, I will definitely drown you with Ramen Soup, got that Dattebasa!?" Boruto finished the last of his statement, at the expense of Sarada's deadpanned expression and immediately calmed himself down. He wanted answers right now.

Silence took charged once again.

Sasuke kept himself calm as he finally recalling how his student could be triggered in rage even in the smaller things. He understood the fact on what had happened just awhile ago and he knew he needed to talk right away.

Giving up a calm and unaffected look, he took his deep breath and finally spoke.

"So I'm not allowed to hug and talk to my daughter?"

Quietness took over the area once more. The statement which gave Boruto the confused and puzzled look instead of realizing the whole damn picture.

* * *

 **(MEANWHILE)**

The events leading up to the final explosion was still fresh in their memories. Especially, for Showtaro, he still couldn't forget his friend's sacrifice. He walked along the rocky grounds in quietness, trying to focus on the main goal for now.

Behind him was, the kid, Mitsue, who was catching up despite the heat of the sun. He was sweating for a little bit and he was obviously panting due to a little exhaustion resurfacing.

"Are you alright?"

It was at this time that Showtaro finally noticed. He stopped his tracks for a little while and turned his full attention towards the boy.

"Yeah, I'm fine" Mitsue replied while trying to catch up his breath." Just trying to catch with my breath that's all." He explained, while giving a cringed.

Showtaro observed the boy for a few moments before sighing. He then raised up his hand, summoning a certain blue transparent bluish orb.

"Here! You won't be thirsty for a long time." He said as he threw the small orb towards the kid, who instantly caught the orb with both hands.

"What's this thing?" Mitsue asked, examining the jellyish orb, even trying to smell it.

Showtaro sighed once more, before giving a small smile." It's basically water but edible and more bite size." He explained in the most simplistic way that he can.

Mitsue's eyes widened in surprised." Woah, this is quite cool! Is this from your world as well?" He asked, trying clarify if this water orb was made from the Pure Land.

"Nah, just got it from a friend." The duck simply replied, before turning back and continuing on the journey.

Mitsue stared at the duck for a second before finally deciding to put the orb inside his mouth. As soon as he took the bite, his eyes widened as he felt being refreshed altogether. The thirst that was torturing him disappeared immediately and he found himself in high spirits once more.

This also help him to continue on with the journey as his re-energized legs could finally cooperate along with his mind.

* * *

 **(Interview)**

 **"I've got to admit that the water orb was something special! It feels like an easy trip to heaven!"**

 **-Mitsue**

* * *

Their journey didn't took long enough as they finally reached a certain endpoint.

All this time they thought they were in a lower ground, but when the endpoint was finally revealed, they were all caught by surprised as the two found themselves observing a very huge crater in front of them or specifically below them.

"What the..." Showtaro trailed off as soon as his eyes caught the image of a recent crater, which was created through human causes." I guess this is where the source of the first explosion had taken place." He commented.

If he can remember correctly, there was a certain loud sound that was heard across the hideout, afterwards a small earthquake was then felt. There was no doubt in his mind that this was indeed the actual site of the explosion.

The question now was, who or what caused this to happened in the first place?

"What happened here?" Mitsue, who had finally caught, asked.

Being the best observer that he is, Showtaro quickly picked up the little bits of clues, focusing more on the middle where multiple individuals were located, he managed to identify each of them.

"Looks like a fight broke out." The duck commented, trying to get a closer look.

Based from his observation, he saw what appears to be Boruto and Sarada having a conversation with the Rogue Sasuke Uchiha, while an unconscious Sakura Haruno and a weakened Naruto Uzumaki, were placed in opposite directions of the field. Sai, on the other hand was clinging into a giant boulder as he tried to support himself.

The only thing that was baffling him was that of the Uchiha, who seemed to be not attacking the two, but instead conversing them in a more benevolent manner.

As he was about to say his words, he was suddenly interrupted by an unfamiliar sound of an electronic beeping, which also caught the kid's attentionm

Both of the two, were taken surprised, Showtaro drew out a certain modern-like scroll. The scroll itself was one producing the sound in a uncontrollable manner.

As Showtaro continued to observed, the scroll was revealed to be partly damaged, presumably caught by the explosion awhile ago. It was not just beeping uncontrollably, it looked as if it was going to explode any second.

Continuous effort of examining the scroll lead him to realized that this was the scroll that the blonde rookie had dropped earlier. In addition this particular scroll contained a certain person, the team's sensei. Yamato.

At the same time, he sensed a new presence nearing their area.

"Showtaro-san! Someone's coming!"

Even Mitsue had felt oncoming danger. The only problem is that he was so sudden, that he had slightly startled the duck, causing him suddenly tripped on a random rock, thus unknowingly losing control of scroll, which saw itself falling down deep into the ruins.

Showtaro didn't noticed since his mind was now focus on the other." Dammit! Behind here!" He beckoned the boy to come faster before the presence had arrived.

The boy and duck stayed in silence, hiding behind a boulder and trying not to say anyword or making any movements that would possibly caused some noise.

Silence had took over.

Both of them could here their breaths fully. A few moments later, foot steps could now be heard throughout and the presence has now reached the area. It sounded as if someone was just walking along the area.

As for the two, Showtaro stayed intact and quiet while Mitsue was flirted by curiousity immediately. The boy seemed itchy, as he slowly but carefully raised his head up for a little bit just to take a peek of the mystery presence.

His eyes would soon widened in surprised as he saw a familiar paled person.

" _Orochimaru!?"_ He thought to himself as he immediately returned back to his hiding spot.

"Who was that?" Showtaro whispered and asked.

The boy was slightly trembling from what he had saw. He turned his eyes towards the duck." Uhmm, It's Orochimaru." Mitsue simply said.

Showtaro gave the boy a slight puzzled look before raising his head up to see for himself. The boy was in fact right as he saw the snake man walking along the area and heading towards to the northern side of the crater.

There was a big sigh of relief from the two they were able to passed this one. Their focus finally shifting towards their main goal of rejoining the others.

It was also at this time that the duck had realized that the scroll was no longer in his hands and slightly panic." Where's the heck is the scroll!?" He asked himself.

Mitsue also noticed the duck's worry." Hey what's wrong?" He asked.

Showtaro, who had been searching his spot for awhile now, turned his head towards the boy." The scroll, it was in my hands awhile ago." He explained." I'm not sure where it went but..." He trailed off as he began to realized something.

"But what?" A confused Mitsue asked.

As for the duck, he finally remembered what had happened as he headed near the end point and took a look down. The boy also followed him.

Right on the lower ground, was the scroll which had fallen down.

* * *

 **(Interview)**

 **"Well, I really don't know other than repeatedly telling myself how clumsy of an idiot, I am sometimes." (Sighs)**

 **-Showtaro**

* * *

Beeping uncontrollably was the only thing that scroll could do before prior to its fall. The once innovative invention of a certain scientist had been damaged by the blast and was now on the verge of blowing up.

Blowing up it did, as soon as the scroll made contact with the ground. It burst into small explosion, producing a large portion of smoke which engulfed that particular area.

The smoke continued for a short while before finally vanishing into the air, revealing a certain brown haired man laying on the ground face down.

* * *

( **MEANWHILE)**

He felt he had been trapped in that position forever.

Naruto was continuously struggling to move as his whole body became frozen all of a sudden. It was during early stages of the battle when he found himself not being able to move properly and his whole body suddenly froze while he was forced to watch the fight continue before him.

The blonde was in deep frustration. He had been gritting his teeth for awhile, doing everything he can to move a muscle. He knew that he had missed a lot of stuff in a span of hours and this is what he get in the end.

"Come on! You can do this!"

Naruto told himself, using every bit of his strength to break free. The process was painful but he had no choice to begin with. After several minutes of struggling, he was finally able to achieved his objective as his body broke free from the control.

Naruto collapse on the ground, on his knees as he gasp for his breath, The process was exhausting for him. He described it as a torture and somewhat similar to when he had trouble of pooping during the morning.

He stayed on the ground for quite sometime, before finally recovering and regaining some of his strength back, thanks to a certain furball inside.

By the time he had recovered, his mind went back to working and moved his eyes around the surroundings. It didn't took long enough for him to noticed the two rookies and the Uchiha teen on the middle of the battlefield. His instincts began telling him to rush towards the field to defend them, so he eventually decided to head out.

Although, a part of him immediately interrupted, stopping his tracks as the blonde then turned towards his left and saw a certain unconscious pink haired teen leaning on a boulder.

"Sakura-chan!" He exclaimed, letting go off his previous goal as he rushed towards his teammate instead.

It didn't took long enough for him to reached his destination as he arrived at the girl's side. Naruto, being the worried guy, he is did whatever he can to check her to make sure that she was in one piece. By the time he had arrived there, he found himself staring at a girl, who had gone to slumber.

There was a sigh of relief that took over the blonde. By the looks of it, she was safe and unharmed. He felt a little bit disappointed for not being there to protect her and the rest. He wasted no time as he attempted

As moments passed by, the blonde noticed that his teammate was slowly regaining. Green eyes slowly revealed itself as Sakura had finally regain her consciousness. Still slightly weakened, she was able to speak.

"N-Naruto?" She muttered, with her vision still blurry."

A small smile formed around the blonde's lips." Yeah it's me Sakura-chan." Naruto said, giving a small chuckle for the first time.

Sakura blinked for a couple times, before continuing." W-What happened while I was out?" She asked.

Hearing that question, the blonde teenager also had very

Sakura could only stare as she gave a very confused looking face. She wondered why her blonde teammate was such in a hurry that he dropped his Kunai on the ground before he left.

* * *

 **(MEANWHILE)**

"What are you talking about?"

Confusion would soon take over Boruto as he stared at the guy with a puzzled and calculative face. The blonde had been helding himself back during the battle, getting sucker stabbed, and now being turned crazy at the same time. He won't fall for these mind games that easily.

He was able to calm himself down from his outburst and was now interrogating the guy. He wanted to get all real and true answers from him. Since he was claiming to be the Sasuke of old. His late sensei.

"You're daughter?" Boruto said, before continuing." What makes you say that she is your daughter?" He added.

"Dammit Boruto!" A faint whisper from Sarada could be hard from the background.

On the other hand, Sasuke gave a sigh." Because she really is." He simply said, He too didn't know how to explain the situation to him since a lot had happened.

 _"Looks like Sensei's younger self is tougher than I thought_." Boruto thought to himself. This guy was now claiming to be the Sasuke of the future.

This was old news for Boruto since Uchiha's are good at convincing people. He was going to challenge him to prove that the guy was just tricking them.

"Alright, if you're really him, when is her birthday?" He asked, referring to his teammate.

"March 28."

Boruto widened his eyes in surprised." Yeah, Lucky guess, What's her least favorite food?"

Sasuke gave a sigh, this was one thing that he found disappointing." Tomatoes." He simply said, recalling how much he was heartbroken when he discovered that his own daughter hated his favorite food.

Again, with the right answer, Boruto was firing question after question. He was now apparently asking everything about his life and his teammate's life just to discredit the man, yet the other was answering all the questions with such accuracy.

Sarada, on the other hand, chose to gave up and decided to go with the flow since she could not stop her blonde teammate. She was just going to see how this ends eventually.

As the interrogation continued, Boruto decided to level up the questions and focused more on certain important events that happened throughout. Expecting that the man would be having a tough time, he instead got the opposite.

"Who were the two guys responsible for attacking the Chuunin Exams?"

"Momoshiki and Kinshiki."

"How did we met Uncle Jiraiya?"

"By using that time travelling talking robot turtle provided by Katasuke."

Boruto was about speak when he was suddenly cut for the first time.

Sasuke continued." And we were there to prevent Urashiki from killing your idiot father's kid version." He finished his statement, which was probably the nail in the coffin.

With all the questions being answered by the Uchiha, Boruto was running out of ideas. He was sweating really hard and he didn't know what to say anymore. His doubts still continued to rally him and by the time the interrogation had reached it'a climax, he fired one last question.

"Who is my favorite stuff toy?" He asked.

The question really confused Sarada, she was wondering on how the conversation had changed its topic to stuffed toys.

There was quietness that took over the area. Sasuke gave a sigh, and shook his head." Mr. Octo, is the name of your favorite octopus stuff toy, that you often secretly carried around even until now." He said.

Boruto was shocked, no one had known that secret except for his Sensei. He was very much surprised as he could not believed that this was in fact his sensei standing right in front of him.

"Oh shoot, it really is you! Dattebasa!" He exclaimed.

Sarada gave a sigh." Oh finally!" She commented, she thought the idiocy of her teammate would last forever.

Sasuke could only shook his head, yet he gave a small smile. He really did missed his student's idiotic antics. At least, it lightened up the mood as of now.

"I don't understand, H-How's this even possible?" Boruto wondered, there has to be some explanation to this. He himself, had witnessed his death.

He was then greeted by silence, even his raven haired teammate had no explanation for this. It was up to other to answer that question.

As for Sasuke, He shrugged off his shoulders, before giving a clueless expression.

"To be honest, I really can't remember how I got here."

* * *

 **(MEANWHILE)**

Groaning was all that he could do.

Yamato felt as if he had the worst headaches ever. His whole body was stiff and he couldn't moved properly since his muscles were still going numb.

A certain crash on the ground was the reason for his returning consciousness yet, he coudn't remember what happened before that, with the exception of darkness.

After a few moments, the brown haired instructor was able to finally moved his body. As the numbness faded away, he used his hands a support as he slowly got up from the ground. He could feel the dust and sands contrast to the earlier grassy grounds of the forest, which led him to wonder on the heck had happened.

The sun was mercilessly burning as the man finally stood up. Almost losing balance, he leaned on the rocky wall to support himself. Yamato brought his eyes up as he found himself in a entirely new place." What in the world...?" He trailed off.

The ruins accompanied by the sunny and windy weather greeted him.

Yamato was in awe of his surroundings. How come he had never seen this, or maybe he had he been into this place before? Continuous observation led him to presumed that this was some sort of base or hideout. Probably Orochimaru's?

The question is how did he even get here? The last time he recalled, he was back in the forest trying to doubt his abilities as a team captain and now he was thousands of miles away from his former location.

Another question also led to him to wonder the whereabouts of his team, which slightly made him panic. He forced himself to walk along the dusty areas, the visibility was not kind to him, so he had to focus more to find the right pathway.

Along the way, he still wondered some of theories on how he had managed to even get here. He could have hit his head hard on something which caused him to suffer a case of amnesia. That could be a good explanation.

Yamato narrowed his eyes as the wind had gotten stronger. He deduced that he was somewhere in the middle of the desert because of the sand. He could sense the presence but he could not see any person right now. As he then turned to his left, as he finally saw a certain pink haired teen from a few distances.

"Sakura!" Yamato exclaimed as he hurried himself by slightly limping towards the teen, despite his still weakened condition.

* * *

 **(MEANWHILE)**

Sakura sat and leaned on the rock, as she finally regained her consciousness. She was confused and unaware of what had transpired. She was woken by her blonde teammate, who was very much in a hurry, as he immediately left her for something more important.

Her head was slightly aching due to her collapsing during the fight and she had no choice but to give in, yet the rookie was there to assist and take her to a safer area. She immediately thought of the girl, by the time she had woken up.

Curiosity had also gotten into her as she began to wonder on what has happened to the rest. She darted her eyes around and stopped at a certain spot where she saw the two rookies, and surprisingly Sasuke, who was standing on the middlefield.

She widened her eyes in surprised. She thought mostly of the rookies as this gravely concerned her. The guy was dangerous, and the two were eventually facing him, which mean't they could get killed instantly if they made the wrong move.

She immediately decided to stand up, yet she found herself being prevented by her wobbly legs and weakened state. She realized her current condition and she began to use her medical Ninjutsu as she placed her hands on herself. The Jutsu eventually worked and she could feel the improvements as she regained her composure and was able to stand up properly.

"Sakura!"

A familiar voice then suddenly called her name.

The pink haired teen widened her eyes in suprised to see her brown haired sensei, by the time she turned to her right." Yamato-sensei!" She exclaimed, rushing to the limping man instead.

Yamato, who was very much nearing the teen, suddenly lost his balance and fell down to the sandy ground. He could still feel the dizziness still rummaging inside his head and he stayed on that position until the pink haired teen reached him.

"Sensei are you alright?" Sakura quickly rushed to the man's aid." What happened to you?" She asked, wondering on he had gotten himself in a place such as this.

The last time she remembered, the man was unconscious from a certain battle and they had no choice but to seal him inside a futuristic-like scroll to carry him safely throughout the journey.

The question was how did he escape from that scroll?

"Yeah, I'm alright." Yamato replied, still recovering from his fall as the pink haired teen assisted him.

"What happened here?" He asked, wanting to know the truth." Are we in the Hideout?" He added.

There was brief of moment of quietnessthat took over. Sakura thought of the ways to explain the situation at best, since a lot had already had happened.

"Well, we ran into some trouble and...Sasuke." Sakura explained, before turning towards the main battle field.

Yamato raised both his eyebrows as he immediately turned to the pink haired teen." Wait...What!?" He asked.

Sakura could only beckoned the man to look at her direction, to which the latter did.

In the main battlefield itself, where the rookies and Sasuke are seemed to be having a conversation?

* * *

 **(MEANWHILE)**

Sai continued to held on to the boulder that supported him. His legs were still shaking and he could still feel the numbness going through his whole body. He had apparently escaped death just awhile ago by not making any single move when the Uchiha passed by him.

He knew his heart was beating fast, yet he didn't made a single noise or even a stare. He kept his eyes on the blank space yet, he occasionally slipped a peek to see where the Uchiha was headed.

Time had passed since and he found himself watching from behind the scenes. He couldn't hear what they were talking about but what really shocked him was that the teen had suddenly pulled Sarada into a hug.

A literal hug.

He was now confused as ever. How could a guy like him would do such an impossible thing? As far he can remember, he tried to kill the whole Team 7, with the exception of Yamato, who wasn't present during that whole time.

He wasn't sure whether to attack the man from behind, or just let it all go since he could sensed no threat right now. As if the mood had gotten into a different kind of level.

"Hey Sai!" A loud whisper was then heard. The black haired teen turned his eyes and saw Naruto, who had appeared out of nowhere and was now behind him.

Apparently, Naruto had snuck in undetected as he found himself heading towards an area behind the main field. It was basically spot behind the Uchiha.

"Are you alright?" Naruto asked, as he reached the teen." Did he tried to kill you again?" He added.

Sai simply shook his head." I'm okay." He said." It's just that I can't move properly." He added, trying to balance himself.

"So far Sasuke is busy having a conversation with the rookies." He informed the blonde." But I'm not really sure what is happening between them right now." He added, referring to the Uchiha's sudden change of mood.

Naruto, who had turned his attention towards the main field, nodded." I know, I think he is trying to trick them." He said." Which is why this is perfect opportunity for me to execute my surprise attack from behind." He said, giving small confident grin.

The blonde proceeded to slowly head towards the main field. He gripped his hands as he saw this as an opportunity to finally end this once and for all.

This was a do or die situation for him. He was going to make sure that he'll bring the Uchiha back to his true home no matter what.

* * *

 **(MEANWHILE)**

"You don't remember?"

Sasuke simply shook his head. He was actually telling the truth. He had no idea how he got here in the first place. As much as he tried many times to search through his own memories, it was all blanks and dead ends.

As for the two teens, they were still baffled yet amazed.

He kept his eyes towards the two as he continued to observed them. "They've gotten bigger or is it just me?" He thought to himself. He was not used to seeing the two at this age and appearance. They all look as if they had matured in a span of days.

It also felt like he had missed a lot of things.

He really did and he wanted to continue on talking to them if it now for a certain blonde, who had suddenly entered the scene from behind.

" **Sasuke!"**

A voice, to which he hadn't heard for a very long time, was heard calling out his name.

Soon his instincts took over and the Uchiha immediately took a step aside to simply dodge the attacking blonde, who tried to ambush him from behind. The two rookies were also startled as well they too, tried to evade the oncoming young seventh.

Boruto quickly pulled Sarada toward himself, yet, as a consequence, he found himself tripping on a random rock, resulting the both of them falling to the ground.

Naruto gritted his teeth in frustration as he found himself missing his one and only target, he already had thought that attacking the raven haired teen from behind, would be more easier now and he was wrong yet again.

The blonde landed at the same time as them as he didn't took off his focus on the raven haired teen." Dammit! Lucky dodge teme!" He said, as he charged once again with his kunai this time.

As for Sasuke, he had enough of this small fight as he instead evaded the blonde once more and jumped up to the top ground, above the crater.

"Get back here teme!" Naruto exclaimed, as he continued." You don't know what is happening!" He added, trying his best to reasoned out with him.

If he can't beat him in a fight, he was going to beat him through talking.

* * *

 **(Interview)**

 **"I was really frustrated with the way things are going with the teme. He really doesn't understand the whole picture and What he really needs is a lecture Dattebayo!"**

 **-Naruto**

* * *

"You don't understand!" The blonde continued." Orochimaru's going to kill you and take over your body!" He added.

His voice was already aching from yelling. In a span of minutes, he began to blurt out all the reasons and explanations that he could think of. He explained everything from the consequences and punishments that the teen could received and it also could lead into a possible death.

Everybody was pretty much in silence. Sakura and Yamato, who had reached the scene stopped their tracks as they too watched the blonde confront his former teammate. Sai, also arrived at main field, still holding his wounded shoulder in pain. In his mind, he still won't forget what the Uchiha had did to him.

As for Boruto and Sarada, they safely landed on the ground, and were now also eyes on the Uchiha.

The barrage of words still continued from the Uzumaki. It seemed that he wasn't giving up that easily.

The wind grew stronger as the silence took charged afterwards. The spotlight shifted to Sasuke, who was expected by everyone to reply back.

The teen stood in his current position giving his own cold and blank stare. It seemed that he was back to his old and usual self. Although, back inside his mind, he was having a tough time bringing back his former personality. He wasn't used to it anymore and he can't even put on a good act to save his cover.

Yet, He was trying his best.

He took a deep breath and began to slowly put on a mask.

"I don't bother." He finally replied." If that happens, it happens." He added, with the coldest and emotionless tone of voice that he could released and surprisingly, it worked for him.

The blonde was reduced to silence and could only stare at the Uchiha in shocked. So as the rest of everyone.

Sensing that this was an opportunity to speak, he continued." My revenge is the only thing I care for." He added." As long as I can achieved it, I really don't bother on what happens to me or anyone else." He paused for a little bit, observing their mixed reactions.

He then gave a smirk." So what if Orochimaru takes over me?" He said, before continuing." The both of us have no match against Itachi." He added." If sacrificing myself to Orochimaru is the only way to kill him, then I will give my life a million times over!"

This was exactly the same words that he could recall saying, during his tenure with the Snake Sannin, twenty something years ago. He was fortunate that he could still remember it.

So far his former teammates' reactions including that of Sai were a mixed of shocked and disbelief. It was not until a certain brown haired man interrupted the conversation as he limped his way through the middle of the field.

 **"I am afraid, that won't happen**." All eyes then turned towards the man.

"Yamato-sensei!?" Naruto was caught by surprised when he saw the man in front of him. He then turned his eyes towards the blonde rookie and gave him a very priceless look.

Seeing the other's expression made Boruto to check his pockets, and to his shock, the scroll was nowhere to be found. He widened his eyes surprised as he realized that he must have somehow dropped the scroll back inside the hideout.

The appearance of the brown haired instructor was total unexpected random suprise for everyone.

Sasuke raised an eyebrow." Where the heck did you came from?" He asked himself, as he began to wonder on what was really going on right now.

At this time, he began to feel a familiar presence arriving at the area and he exactly knew that person.

He then moved his attention back towards them and saw the brown haired young man still speaking and giving statements that he had heard before, and so decided to cut it.

"He is the same as Orochimaru, A rogue ninja, who deserts the village and can't be allowed to-" As Yamato was about to finish his sentence, he was suddenly interrupted by the Uchiha.

"Roam free..." Sasuke finished the words, before continuing." I've already heard that before." He said, as he then decided to go on further with his act.

He raised up his whole arm towards sky, forming a stance as if he was going to summoned a very powerful jutsu. As expected, by the time he had fully raised it, he was suddenly prevented by a certain snake man.

 **"You're still not using that technique, Sasuke-kun**."

Orochimaru appeared beside the Uchiha, as he grabbed his hand to prevent him from using a certain lightning jutsu." You could possibly kill yourself." He added.

The rest of the gang were greeted by surprised by the time the Snake Sannin appeared. Especially, Naruto, who yelled out his name." Orochimaru!"

The snake sannin paid no heed to the blonde's comments. He was more focus on the teen as he gave him a very serious look." We've got some serious problem." He added with a cryptic tone of voice.

As for Sasuke, he stared at the Snake man, trying to figure out his statement. As he could recall, the man hadn't said this kind of statement before, at least during this time around. This was also the first time, he saw the man in a very serious mood, usually he would be more sly and playful.

Sensing the urgency to leave the place, Sasuke simply sighed and snapped his hands. Moments later, portions of fire appeared surrounding them as they slowly fade away from the scene.

Back below the crater, Most of Team 7 were still loss for words, as they could only helplessly watch the Uchiha slowly fade away from them. Their expressions and stares were a mixed of loss and despair. Especially, Naruto, who felt defeated yet again.

They were slowly beginning to realized that they still have a long way to go before they can officially bring the Uchiha and Sakura were the most affected, while Sai and Yamato could only sympathized with them.

This were the main things that Sasuke had noticed. From the inside, he was surprised to discover that they really do care for him. He only realized this just now, years after the original event had happened.

He could only give a sad look secretly.

As for Boruto and Sarada, they too were just observing the scene unfold. Mainly, their eyes were focused on the Uchiha. Their thoughts differ from the rest of the main core. Boruto was more amazed while Sarada was more amused that her Papa's acting skills had surprisingly improved.

As the Uchiha disappeared from the scene, The rookies immediately noticed that Sasuke was now staring at them, and surprisingly, the teen gave them a small smile, which mean't that they will meet again.

* * *

 **(Interview)**

 **"You know, all these stuff that happened right now, it's probably one of the most random yet mind-blowing experience ever. More mind-blowind than Momo-san, occasionally taking over my body.**

 **-Boruto**

 **"Well, I really don't know what to say, I mean it's just really strange and surreal to see that Papa's really here."**

 **-Sarada**

* * *

 **(MEANWHILE)**

Silence took over the entire place.

Everybody was left speechless, with a growing emotion from inside. The ambience of the place had changed once more, as it finally calmed down from the previous chaotic events that had transpired.

Naruto stared at the empty spot, where his former teammate used to stand. For a few moments, he wondered with his mind on what other things that he could he have done to get a better result, yet he was just too late and the damage had been already done.

He slowly collapse to his knees as he began to began to quietly cry.

All that he that training that he gone through for all these years, all the goals that he had set, the blood, sweat and sacrifice, it still wasn't enough to bring the guy back and he was beginning to doubt his efforts.

Boruto saw all this as he slowly stood up from the ground, while still slightly limping, the rookie headed towards his young old man with a goal to comfort him.

Sarada, on the other hand saw the pink haired teen, who was slightly struggling to catch up as she quickly recovered and headed towards to the area to assist her.

As everybody took action, Yamato found himself witnessing his team, worked together for the first time. It was a very surreal thing for him and he began to compare the chemistry from before and now, which was really surprising.

* * *

( **Interview)**

 **"This had always been the common thing after a battle or a fight, it basically leaves you a very small trauma to manage, yet right now, It's somehow turning into the opposite.**

 **-Yamato**

* * *

 **(MEANWHILE)**

"Hey man, are you alright?"

It was often the question that Boruto would asked everytime he sees someone, who has been struggling with a problem. The rookie sat beside the other as placed a hand on the the blonde's shoulder.

Naruto felt the rookie's presence as he turned to see the teen, with a small smile." Yeah, I'm fine man." He replied, before taking a deep breath." It's just that I cried a lot in this mission." He added." No matter what I try, all my goals always seemed to fail." He began to doubt.

Hearing his statement, Boruto gave a sigh, yet smiled." Well, it's okay to cry all the time, but sometimes crying doesn't really help on solving the problem." He explained." Although, no matter what happens, there's always away to get back up and continue on."

Naruto slowly looked up and stared at the rookie. He slowly nodded as he understood what he was trying to say. Things are not always too late.

"As matter a fact, we could use this disappointment as a motivation to get stronger and that will really help us along the way." Boruto added, as he finished the rest of his statement.

"I am here too!"

A familiar voice then said. Both of them looked up to see the pink haired teen, assisted by the raven haires rookie with a supportive smile." We'll be stronger!" She said, while tears were flowing from her eyes.

She too cared.

Sarada on the other hand, also joined in." Count me in too!" Giving her support towards the rest.

"And I guess, we still have six months left?" Sai entered the conversation as he garnered the rest of everybody's attention. He then gave a smile." I am pretty sure that three is better than two, and I am also strong myself." The teen said, surprising the rest. It seemed that he now understands the meaning of Unity.

Naruto was loss for words as he could really see them committing and pledging as a team." T-Thank you." He muttered under his breath.

It was definitely a very eventful day. As the sun shine upon them, their hopes were renewed once more.

As Boruto assisted his dad from the ground, his eyes suddenly caught two certain someones, waving at him from above and it was none other than Showtaro and a boy to which he hadn't seen before.

 **"Hey everybody!** "

The boy's call resulted in everybody looking at a certain direction.

"Who's that?" Yamato asked.

Sai widened his eyes surprised as he immediately recognized the voice." Mitsue!" He called out the boy's name.

It was the final arrival of the two that resulted in everyone finally reuniting for the first time after a series of unfortunate events that befell them throughout their journey.

It seemed that they now had the opportunity to gather and retreat for now.

* * *

 **(MEANWHILE)**

It was probably the worst headache that he had ever been since suddenly blacking out. As his consciousness slowly returned, Kabuto slightly cringed as he felt multiple aches and pains throughout his whole body, not just his private part.

He tried to move a muscle but was unable to because of the pain. He could feel the heat of sun slowly burning him and he somehow knew that he was done as a potato. There was no one here to help him right now.

He was all alone.

Orochimaru? He won't be able to help since he had important matters to attend to.

Sasuke? There's no reason or possibility for that brooding moron to help him in some way. As matter a fact, he hated the teen's arrogant attitude.

This was one of the consequences that he would often get since he made that decision to leave and desert the village for the Snake Sannin. In fact, he had already accepted it and there's was no turning back.

He had no family nor friends, all of them were dead to him, it was only himself from the beginning and until the end.

He tried to open his eyes for the first time but was greeted by the blinding light of the sun. which forced him to retreat back to a dark vision. It's not just the trouble of getting up but opening his as well. He wondered if he was going to remain here forever.

All he wanted was to go home, but which home? The Hideouts that he had stayed in? Or the other home, to which his story began, that fateful day?

As moments passed by, he soon began to feel a sense of coolness and relief. All the pain and aches were slowly fading away. He began to feel a presence beside him, a presence which baffled him. It was all too familiar yet, he couldn't figured it out.

Who was this person right now?

"You'll be alright, Kabuto-kun." A female voice then said.

That voice. It was very familiar, as if he had heard it somewhere before and he also couldn't figure it out.

So he took another attempt as he slowly opened his eyes. This time he was able to get a vision and he could see a certain young woman, with a light brown hair. She donned some kind of old Shinobi attire to which he had not seen and she wore this square-shaped style of glasses. The main feature that caught his attention was the emerald green eyes that this young woman possessed.

His mind started come to life and began to share memories from his past. Particularly, a certain someone that he looked up to as a role model and family long ago.

 _"There you go! I guess it fits you well!"_

 _"Do you think so?"_

 _"Yup, Now you can be on time. I just hope the lenses are okay for you."_

 _"Really?...Thank you so much!_ "

As his mind brought the memory forward, Kabuto began to slowly realized and soon, he was overcome with a shock and surprise towards this person, who was currently healing him. Unknowingly, small tear then fell from his eye as the silver haired man, finally gathered himself to speak for the first time.

"Mother?"

* * *

 **(CHAPTER END)**

 **AN: There you go fellas! that's the end of the chapter. To be honest, this chapter was a tough to write since I really needed to make sure that their reactions are on point. I hope I did it right.**

 **Looks like we are also near the end of Arc 3: Phase 2! And I will be taking a short break after the Finale chapter is published:)**

 **Then again, Thank you for reading the story:)**

* * *

 **(EXTRA SCENE)**

 **The peaceful and sunny atmosphere of the day had suddenly been interrupted.**

 **It felt as if a meteor had struck the middle of a certain small open lake, surprising anyone, who was there. The impact had created a small tsunami which definitely caused little panic from the forest animals, who were drinking the waters of lake from the shore.**

 **In a unexpected coincidence, two boys in their early teens found themselves as witnessed to the current event. They were currently fishing on the lake, by the the time the mysterious object hit the lake, which caused the little tsunami.**

 **Luckily, the boys were able to land ashore by the time the object landed on the waters. The two of them were surprised as they had not expected this kind of thing to happened.**

 **The first boy, held his bucket of fish while the second boy was holding his fishing rod. Both of them were frozen into shock and now staring at the lake expecting the next scene to unfold.**

 **"What do you think that is?" The second boy asked his friend.**

 **The first boy shrugged." Beats me, I guess a giant rock from space fell." He replied.**

 **As the ripples in the water calmed down, the two boys headed near the shores once again to investigate and by the time they got closer, they saw something arising from the water.**

 **"What in the world...?"**

 **The boys stopped their tracks as they found themselves staring at the mystery object that hit the waters. Actually, it wasn't an object but person that fell from the sky. To add something to the thrill, the person was a pretty blonde young woman, who arose from the waters and headed towards the shore.**

 **The young woman seemed to be irritated or annoyed. She donned an unfamiliar Shinobi attire, which was now all soak and wet. She took the first few steps towards in land, thinking about the previous incident that befell her.**

 **Yuko was pretty much annoyed. The young woman thought that going back to that kind of immature personality, she had before, was still alright.**

 **Although, going back to her old psychotic self, gave her consequences and one of them was being smash and thrown like a ragdoll by a freaking tailed beast, which was a first time. She still couldn't believed that she still lose to a bunch of losers.**

 **She learned a lesson today.**

 **Still wet, Yuko then took her old self off, revealing a new personality. Her current sassy and more mature personality. Swaying her hips naturally, the young woman found herself walking in land and passing two certain boys, who were staring at her as if she was something shocking that they had ever seen.**

 **They were right, she was indeed a shocking yet, somehow amazing site to look at.**

 **Soon, irritation would take over as the young woman narrowed her eyes, giving them a very haughty look.**

 **"What are you two idiots looking at?" She asked rudely and with arrogance, her hands on her hips." Haven't seen a poor and wet woman before?" She added, before turning her eyes away from them, wallking towards a specific area, where a certain person was waiting for her.**

 **As the young woman passed by, the two boys were still staring at her. There jaws almost dropped on the floor and their expressions were pretty much priceless. As the quietness continued, the boys wondered about the mystery girl.**

 **"Hey, you know what?" The first boy then broke the silence, getting the attention of the second boy.**

 **"Yeah?"**

 **The first boy then took a deep breath as he shook his head and a smile formed around his lips.**

 **"She's pretty hot!"**


	71. Arc 3 Phase 2: Finale

**I don't own Naruto. Mr Kishimoto Does.**

 **Author's note: Hey there Readers!, This should be the final chapter for Arc 3: Phase 02. I Hope you guys enjoy! I would also like to thank you guys for the Reviews. Favorites, and follows**

 **Take note: This chapter is just a wrap up for the whole arc, there's a lot of slice of life scenes here.**

 **Expect some grammar and spelling mistakes along the way.**

 **Thank you for Understanding :)**

 **P.S**

 **I also have a new story called "Resurrection" The story is about the dead mysteriously coming back to life years after the war. Feel free to check out the story:)**

* * *

 **Arc 3: Phase 2: Finale**

The heat of the sun was burning, throughout the rocky desert, at least for a certain light brown haired woman, who resisted or didn't even bother to feel the heat. She was focused on a more important matter right now.

Along with sheer determination and little worry, the woman stayed by the silver haired man's side as she placed her hands on his chest, attempting her best to heal him from his injuries. She was still glad that she still regained chakra when she first arrived back here. There was a cost for returning back to the world to where she formerly once belong.

Nonou Yakushi, with dedication and perseverance was the one responsible for saving her "Son" from the explosion. Before that, she had to go through a lot of trials and obstacles just to escape and by passed the strict and dangerous security of the Pure Land.

The whole place was chaotic to her, and she never wanted to be there anymore. Apparently, she had her own goals to pursue and one of them is to be reunited with the silver haired man, who she hadn't seen for a very long time. It was safe to say that she had achieved that goal and it took a lot of tough work to reach it.

How she had missed her son.

She coudn't count the number of tears that were falling from her eyes. Like any mother would do, she was doing what she deemed is right. Eventually, she might get caught by the Pure Land's authorities but she didn't even care if she gets punished for this kind of act.

"Mother?"

The silver haired man finally let a word out to finally break the silence. His voice was thin and weak as if he had just woken up from a coma.

Processing his first thoughts was a challenge for Kabuto himself, by the time he had opened his eyes, he was greeted by someone, who he hadn't seen for a very long time. The emerald green eyes and the light brown hair was definitely a giveaway.

His thoughts then would shift to doubt and confusion.

"H-How was she here?

"I thought she was gone for a long time?"

There were so many questions that continue to pour in. He wondered if this was indeed reality. There was no way that person was really his mother. She had been dead for many years already, unless he too died a violent death and found himself in some kind of purgatory or maybe heaven.

He really did felt relieved. All the pain that he was feeling right now was surprisingly gone. He felt as if his soul was really in heaven. This was the first time, he felt so peaceful. He then focused his eyes back on the woman, and he slowly reached his hand towards her.

As his hand reached her cheek, the silver haired man slightly gave a surprised expression. For the simple fact that he was able touch her and that she wasn't some kind of ghost or spirit.

On the other hand, Nonou felt her heart being touched. She was slightly caught in by suprised when the guy reached out to her. She fondly remembered a certain memory by the time the man's hand had touched her cheek. Her mind went back towards the day when a certain boy tried to reached to her out of curiousity because of her glasses.

The young woman held the silver haired man's hands in return. She was a bit speechless yet she was able to let out a few words of her own.

"Don't worry dear, Everything's going to be alright." She whispered.

"We are going to get out of this place." She added to her statement, not knowing that a presence was approaching the area and from behind.

Kabuto was confused and dazed. He heard what the young woman had said yet he couldn't process or understand what she was trying to say.

Sensing that there was no time to waste and also suddenly sensing the oncoming presence. Nonou fasten herself as she tried to take action. Although, as she was about to do her move by drawing out her own Kunai, she found herself being too late to react as a certain voice then suddenly prevented her from doing so.

" **If I were you, I wouldn't do such a careless thing."** It was a voice of a young man that said.

" **Dropped the weapon and turned around."** The voice then commanded.

Sensing that she was at the edge of the blade. She took a deep breath and dropped her Kunai on the rocky ground. She slowly raised both of her arms and then turned around to face the young man.

Sasuke's focus remained. He gripped his blade tight as he found himself facing a young woman to which he hasn't seen or met before. Based from his description of the person, she had light brown hair and green emerald eyes. She donned what appears to be an old Shinobi attire and a pair of square-shaped glasses.

"She looked as if she came from the leaf village as well." The Uchiha thought to himself as he continued to observed her.

There was silence that took over the area. The wind grew strong as the atmophere began to tense at the same time.

The young woman found herself facing the tip of the blade that could possibly end it all. She knew that she had to be careful on her next moved and moments later, an idea then came into her mind. She took another deep breath and began to speaking.

"Listen, you don't have to let someone lose their life today." She said towards the young man." We both know that fighting is not the answer to this." She added, while receiving nothing but silence.

For a few moments, Sasuke kept quiet and observant. Thoughts were running into his mind, wondering if this woman was telling the truth. He had just got back from the previous encounter with his former team and now he finds himself in another potential battle if anything goes to the extreme.

He took a deep breath.

"Then tell me, why should I trust you?" He asked. He still needed to send that statement as a final confirmation. If the person has shown hesitation or nervousness or any slight of suspicion, then that person is definitely a culprit.

Quietness took over for a few moments as the young woman gave the teen a very serious look."

"Because his life is at stake, including yours." She calmly replied.

Sasuke gave a baffled look. What does she mean when she said that his life was in danger? Could there be some kind of plot for him to be assassinated again? Did this plot secretly came from mercenaries or Orochimaru himself?

"What do you mean?" He asked once again.

For a few moments of quietness, The young woman slightly surveyed her surroundings to see if there were any suspicious eyes. Luckily, they were the only ones present in the area right now.

She then turned her eyes back towards the teen and spoke once more.

"Trust me, you don't know what's really going on."

* * *

 **(MEANWHILE)**

"You looked so defeated and wet, Did something happened?"

It seemed that the streak of bad luck had continued to plague the young woman. Yuko had been smashed and thrown like ragdoll and got unexpectedly beaten by a bunch of nobodies. Now, she found herself receiving obvious comments from a certain individual in front of her.

It had been a very eventful day since the incident back at the hideout. All Tensai could observed was the young woman had met an unfortunate humiliation and now she was standing in front of him, possibly planning to whine, yet he received a different response.

Yuko gave a semi-sarcasic expression." Of course, something happened!" She replied before continuing." It's pretty obvious isn't?" She added, pointing to herself.

Tensai gave slight chuckle, before shaking his head." I told you so, don't ever underestimate underdogs." He said." They're really at surprising anyone." He added.

The young woman slightly narrowed her eyes." So...? I was just merely testing their skills." She explained." Although, I haven't got to interact with the main core, just the duck and that Otsutsuki." She added.

Tensai raised both eyebrows." Oh I see." He said, before continuing." Have you gotten information about them?" He asked.

Yuko gave a slight frowned expression as she really didn't want to recall previous events out of embarrassment yet she needed to. She took a slight deep breath and spoke." Well, it seems that the duck came from the Pure Land, and I'm not sure who is he working for." She explained." As for the Otsutsuki, I think his a prisoner who has somehow been imprisoned underground for years.

Tensai nodded in understanding." Oh I see." He said, before continuing." What has happened to them?" He asked.

There was silence that befell the young woman. She knew too well that her old killing tendecies can be a nuisance and it made her responsible for messing things up for a little bit rather than just capture the two alive. As a result, one of them had possibly died.

Tensai, on the other hand, was waiting with curiosity, based from his observations, the young woman seemed to struggling or hesistant to speak about the incident.

A few moments had passed and the young woman finally let her mouth opened." Well, I'm not really certain, I guess both of them managed to escape since luck is on their side." She explained, she too actually wasn't able to witness the final scenes since she was forcibly thrown away by the Mini-tailed beast.

Tensai nodded in understanding." Oh I see." He said, before continuing." It seems that the duck is in league with the trio." He replied, causing the young woman to project a certain expression.

"Oh you mean those new kids on the block?" Yuko asked, before scratched her chin." Oh How could I forget about them?" She commented sarcastically, " They're pretty nice to hangout with if you ask me?"

Tensai gave an amused expression." Well, I guess that's your mission for the meantime." He said, as he grabbed an empty basket and fishing rod.

"Hey wait a sec! What do you mean mission?" Yuko asked, with confusion all over her face." I thought you're gonna assign me and the others later at the meeting?" She added.

Tensai gave a slight chuckle." Well, wouldn't be better if you know the details now?" He said, giving a slight yawn." Besides, you're pretty good in blending yourself in society." He explained." I think you're the best fit for the task." He added.

Yuko stayed quiet for awhile, she thought about the possible scenarios that could happened. Blending in with society will definitely give her a chance to live as a normal citizen, a life to which she never had since the beginning. It will also give her time to explore the current trends of today's world.

She lived in times of war.

A playful smile then went across her face." Hmmm, Looks like I'll be having some fun." She said, folding her arms.

"See, I told you." Tensai said, now giving a slight serious look." Your goal is basically locate these trio of newcomers and get to know them." He explained.

The main issue about these trio is that they are unexpected pieces to the plan at hand. They already have done enough damage to slightly alter the course of the events and if they continued to do so, then there's a conflict right here. Another issue revolves around locating enemies and hindrances to the plan.

As for Yuko, she also had a little unfinished business with one of them. The raven haired lady with the red glasses.

"Guess I'm in for this." The young woman simply said as she gave her superior a confident smirk.

Tensai gave a small smile as the young man finally decided to head towards the lake. Grabbing his basket and fishing rod, he passed by the silver haired lady, without any more thoughts to ponder.

"Hey, what's with the fishing rod and the outfit by the way?" Yuko asked, finally noticing the man's simplistic outfit.

The young man gave a sigh and turned to the the young silver haired lady." Well, Just trying to relive the life which I once had." He simply said before finally heading out of the small forest.

As Yuko was left standing there, she took a quick look at the young brown haired man. What was so interesting about him was that he was not like the other members of the organization. He somehow had that respect inside of him, and he seemed to be an approachable person.

Yet still, no one knows about the man's past except for the fact that he died a tragic death and has been brought back and chosen to lead this group for the majority of the time.

At least for her, she didn't bother to revisit or talk about her past, since all of that was already dead to her to begin with. What she could only do know is write a new one for her own.

That is why the village of Konoha was good place to start that chapter.

* * *

 **(MEANWHILE)**

From the point of where they started their journey back towards the village, The whole team found themselves arriving at a very familiar area.

The vast sandy fields had been now replaced by the lush green forest. Something that everyone in the group had been expecting since the aftermath of the final confrontation against the Uchiha.

They were stepping their feets on the sandy grounds for hours now, having little struggles with the occasional sand storms across the land, and also having to deal with the problem of thirst. Apparently, the team's water supply had dropped into new lows, forcing them to cancel their occasional stops for breaks in hopes of reaching the green lands sooner.

It wasn't a joke to be honest, they were all exhausted and were now weary.

Eventually, they would overcome those struggles. For such as the sand storms never bothered them, the water shortages were temporary solved because of water orbs that Showtaro had to sustained the rest of their thirst. The rest were very surprised and amazed to see a duck with such supplies, although they just never chose to ask more questions along the way.

Since Yamato was weakened to lead the way, Naruto, Sakura, and Sai were the ones that took charged for the first time as they led the rest of Team 7 out of the sandy fields. The two rookies caught up as they remained behind the trio, conversing with Showtaro and Mitsue. As for their brown haired captain, he could managed his own.

The journey finally had ended with the rest of the team reaching the final stages. A faint of green could be seen from a few distances away. As they got closer, it was slowly being revealed into a wide mile of trees which stretched forth endlessly.

Slowly but surely, all of their faces were lit up. Hopes renewed and a sense of relief being felt afterwards.

"Yes! We finally reach the forest!"

As per Mitsue's triumphant yell. Everyone followed that victory as they all made their way towards the greener lands as fast as they can.

* * *

 **(LATER ON)**

"Looks like this should be the perfect spot to set up camp, Sakura-chan."

Naruto commented, stopping his tracks as he found himself observing his current surroundings which was revealed to be a round small lake located in an open area inside the forest.

Sakura nodded in agreement." Yeah, I guess so." She replied, also surveying her surroundings

The peaceful atmosphere of the area greeted the rest of the team. Boruto, Sarada, Mitsue, Showtaro, and Yamato emerged from the trees to find themselves at a certain place, where they can fully let go of their battle hardened selves and fully rest.

"You've got to be kidding me." Boruto muttered under his breath. He was a bit mesmerized the fact that they had been gifted with a place to loosen down their weariness." Such as place right, Sarada-chan?"

Sarada, on the other hand didn't said a word yet she gave a nod as a response, because she had her mind focused on one thing. Drawing a certain small rectangular-shape object, she immediately opened her smart phone, and secretly took a couple of photos.

Her blonde teammate quickly took noticed of what she was doing and his heart beated in nervousness. He took a glance at his left and saw that their brown haired sensei was approaching them.

Boruto widened his eyes as he immediately gave his teammate a tap on the shoulder." I think it would be best if you hide the phone first." He whispered to warn her.

"What...?" Sarada said as she then turned her eyes towards her blonde teammate and then Yamato, who was heading towards their direction. As soon as she noticed the brown haired man." Oh Crap!" She exclaimed in her mind as she immediately placed her phone behind her back.

As Yamato reached them, the two rookies quickly turned their full attention to the brown haired man.

"Yamato-sensei!" Both of them said in unison, slightly startling the man.

Yamato slightly widened his eyes in suprised." Well, you two seemed very excited." He commented, not sure what was the fuss all about.

Boruto gave a grin." Well, really can't wait to finally get back home sensei!" He replied, while his Uchiha teammate kept quiet.

Yamato gave a slight nervous smile." Yeah, You're right about that but..." He trailed off before focusing his eyes on the two." Is it okay if you can help me on a small favour?" He asked.

Both rookies took glances at each other before turning back to the man with an expecting look. What could it be?

"Sure sensei! What's the job?" Boruto asked with a smile.

There was quietness that took over for a brief moment and Yamato was wondering if this was the right thing to do. He was sure hell of a nervous because this could cost his job.

"Well, is it okay if you can assist me on my mission report to Lady Tsunade if when we get back home?" He finally relayed his worries to the two.

Both rookies gave a surprised. This was the first time that the man asked them for help. All they knew about him, was that he was strong and independent. Although, since he had come forward, they had no choice but to listen to him and do him a favour.

"Uhmm, Sure!" Boruto said." We'll do our best to help sensei!" He replied back with a grin before giving his teammate a little shrug.

In response to that, Sarada smiled." Yeah, we'll try to explain to Lady Tsunade about it." She said.

For a few moments, Yamato observed the two. He was takem by surprised when the rookies agreed to help him, which somehow a sigh of relief to him. He felt grateful and he'll make sure that he'll give the two something in return.

Speaking of the two, they really looked like a couple.

The brown haired man sighed." Thank you very much!" He thanked them.

Boruto and Sarada could only smile back as they were also glad to have a help. In that same time, the blonde teenager, decided to have a little prank and secretly snatched his teammate's smartphone from her.

"Catch me if you can!" Boruto exclaimed as he playfully tried to escape the raven haired girl.

Sarada, who on the other hand, was startled but immediately her irritation took over for the first time and she automotically raced towards the blonde in order to give him a discipline beating." This is not the time for games you idiot!" She said as she chased him through out the area.

Yamato, now left alone once more, watched dumbfoundedly.

"They're really are a couple."

* * *

 **(LATER ON)**

As time passed on, the rest of the hours were allocated as the whole team had began to set up camp to prepare for the night.

Naruto and Sakura acted as the duo in- charged for the rest of the day, with the pink haired teen working together with the raven haired rookie as they plan the proper layout of the camp and physically implementing it with the help of their brown haired sensei.

As for Naruto, he sought out the rest of the boys in the group. Taking the blonde rookie, Sai, Showtaro and Mitsue to get wood for the bonfire, other necessary things needed later on and to also survey the rest of the surroundings.

As everyone was tasked to their jobs and now, they had a goal of making their evening comfortable and best as possible.

* * *

 **(Interview)**

 **"When all these things are over, I am pretty sure that everybody could have that deserve rest."**

 **-Boruto**

* * *

 **(LATER ON** )

The day continued on without any unusual events. Sakura, Sarada and Yamato began their task on setting up the camp. They had to load out each of everyone's sleeping bags, placing the bags into their respective positions, in a circular arrangement according to the planned layout.

As for the other group, Naruto's team returned back successfully carrying loads of wood. Every single member of that group, with the exception of Showtaro, were all carrying their own set of wood.

Apparently, Showtaro had been the one in charged of surverying and overseeing the rest of the vast forest surroundings, since he was a duck and he had the ability of flight and from his perspective, he could easily see everything from above.

Nothing happened during their search except for a few instances where a wild boar suddenly appeared out of nowhere and chased the whole group around the area. The funny thing is that none of them dared to confront the wild boar because of simply that they don't want to and they spent an hour being chased around until the boar lost interest and left them.

When they finally achieved their only objective, they emerged from the forest battered and exhausted as if they took on Rock Lee's hundred lap race challenge, which was really ridiculous until now.

Sarada could only gave a chuckle as she had to assist a very pale and exhausted Boruto, who apparently didn't had a great time running away from the wild boar. It seemed like a De Ja Vu for the poor teenage blonde and she remembered that he was chased by a wild boar last time when they first arrived in the past.

She didn't exactly quite recall everything that happened at that time but she remembered seeing the color blonde and the sun shining through the forest as the chase was still ongoing.

Sarada smiled as she cut the onions and garlic on a makeshift chopping board. She was now currently in charged of the dinner menu. Her mind was playing all the memories and she couldn't help but watched all of them regarding her certain blonde teammate.

 _"I wonder on how many times did he saved me?_ " She thought to herself. She was definitely a strong young lady with an accidental habit of getting herself save by her teammate in some occasions. She wondered on how does she even get herself in those situations?

* * *

 **(Interview)**

 **"Well, I'm not the damsel in distress type of character. I am more of a clumsy girl, who sometimes get into those situations."**

 **-Sarada**

* * *

"Sarada-san?" Just then, a familiar voice called her name.

The raven haired teen snapped from her thoughts as she turned her attention to the pink haired teen, who was now looking at her with a little bit of concern and confusion. Apparently, Sakura had just gotten back from the inventory checking session, holding a small clipboard with a note.

"Is everything alright?" She asked the raven haired teen, who seemed to be daydreaming just awhile ago.

Sarada quickly snapped to back reality. She slightly shook her head and gave a small smile." Uhmm, Yeah." She replied back." Just figuring out on how my teammate managed to escape the wild boar." She explained.

Hearing that statement, Sakura gave a slight laugh." Oh I see." She said, before continuing." I was actually thinking about it just now." She explained." It makes you wonder how they even managed to get themselves into those kinds of situations." She gave a little chuckle.

Sarada smiled." Yeah you're right." She said as she thought about the blonde once more. no matter how many times the guy had faced challenges far more bigger and dangerous, he still ends up getting beaten by small obstacles such as this.

What a strange but colourful way to live a life.

Both of the two girls' attention shifted towards a certain direction where the two blondes were currently at.

* * *

 **(MEANWHILE)**

The small lake was calm at this time in the afternoon.

Bringing their improvised fishing down the surface of the water, the two blondes found themselves trying to catch any fish, which will be part of the team's dinner later on aside from the usual canned food. It was actually the rookie's idea to fetch a fish out of the lake, to which was a new thing for the team especially, Naruto himself.

"This is actually cool Boruto!" Naruto commented, since he could really feel the peacefulness in the atmosphere. His jacket was unzipped revealing a black fish net type of t-shirt. Something from the past that the rookie wouldn't bother to tryout.

Boruto gave a small smile." Yeah, I guess this is your first time huh?" He replied, it seemed that his young old man had never been into kinds of activities such as this.

There was quietness that took over for a brief while as Naruto submerged into his deep thoughts before giving a smile." Well, it's actually not my first time Boruto." He explained." I've been into many fishing trips before but all those activities were just by myself." He said, projecting a sense of loneliness in his tone of voice.

"Really?" The rookie asked.

Naruto simply nodded." Well, I don't know how to explain this properly but whenever I go fishing, it's always been just myself, maybe a little bit with Kakashi-sensei and the guys back then, but it was all me." He explained, giving a slightl chuckle." I am just glad that I could fish with a sense of peacefulness." He added.

"Oh." Boruto muttered. He now understood what the other blonde was saying. He was just shocked and surprised to see how even in simpler activities, his old man was often by himself.

And then he remembered his grandpa Minato and grandma Kushina, bringing up a little bit of sadness to him.

"What about you?" His thoughts were interrupted as the rookie then turned his attention back towards the blonde." Do you always feel this sense of calmness whenever you go fishing?"

Boruto remained quiet for a few moments before finally speaking up." Well, uhmm, most of the time." He said, before continuing." And I have to thank a certain person for that." He added.

Naruto both raised his eyebrows in curiousness." Oh, who is it?" He asked.

"My Dad." The rookie simply said as he tried to focus more on catching a fish.

Naruto stared at the rookie for a bit, before continuing." Ya know, there's always something, everytime you talk or mention your dad." He commented, raising his interest on the subject.

"Is there something about him?" He added.

Boruto took the time to regather himself. Giving a deep breath, he spoke." Well, there's something." He said." Something that really lightens up the day." He explained, recalling memories where the whole family used to go on fun activities such as this. He remembered how his old man would do something silly and clumsy which would make everyone laugh their butts off.

"I guess you're dad is a fun person to hangout with!" Naruto commented." If I were have my own dad, I hope it would be like yours man." He gave a grin.

Boruto gave a sad smile." Well, it would be better if your dad would be a bad ass like a Hokage." He suggested." Who's your favorite Hokage by the way?" He asked.

Naruto was silent for a few moments." Hmmm, I always idolized the fourth when I was younger." He said.

It was very much a surprised for the rookie. An irony for his old man to mentioned and talked about the Fourth Hokage. His old man's dad and his very own grandpa, to which he never had met before in person.

Boruto nodded in understanding. "Oh I see." He said, before continuing." I guess you chose the perfect Hokage to idolized." He commented."

Naruto gave a little chuckle." Looks like it." He said, before continuing." Although, I never got to see him in person since...He died before I was born." He explained, going back into quietness.

Boruto gave a sympathetic look." Oh I see." He said, before continuing." He was a great person if you asked anyone." He added, to which the other just simply nodded.

"Yeah, it makes me wonder why the furball inside me keeps talking about him and-" Naruto trailed off.

At this moment in time, both of their fishing rods began to make noise as it finally caught something.

"Oh no Here it comes!" Boruto was the first to speak and react at the same time as he immediately grabbed the fishing rod and target rolling the handle.

As for Naruto, he was caught in a little suprised and being dumbfounded for a few seconds, his mind went on and took charged but before that, he suddenly sharp pain in his head.

The blonde slightly cringed in pain as he moved he placed his right on his forehead. Right after that, the pain itself slowly faded away and by the time he opened his eyes, he saw a vision of a little blonde boy and a lavender haired girl in front of him.

 _"Come on old man, stop daydreaming and help us catch big carp!" The blonde boy argued, yelling at him with excitement._

 _"Daddy, the big fish is going away!" The little girl also informed him._

 **"Hey, Naruto!"**

He was suddenly brought back to reality as the blonde found himself staring at the rookie, who was giving him a concerned and serious look.

"Are you alright? You're fishing rod is might have caught something." Boruto informed the blonde, not noticing the brief headache experience scene.

Naruto blinked a couple of times before finally realizing what was happening. Now that he was aware of it, he immediately went towards his rod and began rolling the lever.

"Sorry about that, I was daydreaming just now." He gave a small nervous smile.

Boruto stared at him for a few moments before going back to his own task. He wondered if the guy was alright.

* * *

 **(Interview)**

 **"He seemed to be in deep thoughts lately. I guess all that Hokage talk juggled up his memories about his past."**

 **-Boruto**

* * *

 **(LATER ON)**

The afternoon had been great to the whole team.

The night shortly arrived after the sun had finally set in giving the responsibility to the stars above. The moon was on its way to finally shine upon the land and the forest.

Due to the free and uinterrupted time that they had, they were able to finally finished all their task at hand. The sleeping bags were all in properly stationed on their respective spots, all of the wood had been gathered and a bonfire was now born thereafter.

The comfortable heat in the middle was a fresh thing for the rest. The fire's job was to give them warmth and also cooked their dinner, which was revealed to be a set of grilled fish and fish, steamed inside a portable big pot. The cooks were none other than Sarada and Boruto, who worked together to bring out the best dinner for the night.

They were currently having dinner with the rest of the team, enjoying and having conversations together.

 _"I must say, this is the best fish that I ever tasted Dattebayo!"_

 _"This is actually good!"_

 _"Yum Yum_!"

It was all for praiseful comments from the rest of Team seven including Mitsue. All of them were pretty much ravaged by the journey that all of their stomachs had been demanding for food for the past hours now. It was very satisfying for them to finally seat down and eat.

Boruto and Sarada were giving them humble grins and smiles throughout the whole time. They acted as if they were just back liners of the kitchen or just simple fellows, who just wanted to contribute their best. Both held their plastic plates, which contained their food.

"It's no big deal guys, We're just here to served!" Boruto replied, scratching the back of his head.

Sarada on the other hand also had the same statement." I am just an assistant."She explained, raising both of her hands." Believe me, my mother cooks better than me to be honest." She said, secretly taking a glance at the pink haired teen.

"You don't have to be so humble." Naruto replied back with a grin, before continuing." Just like I said before, You're part of the Team Seven family!" He added, trying to lift their spirits up.

"Uhmmm, guys?" A familiar voice then entered the conversation and everyone turned their eyes towards a certain Sai, who had a slightly nervous look.

"A-Am I also part of the Team Seven Family?" He asked, with a slight nervous tone of voice. He still wasn't sure if the rest of them have accepted him.

The others were very much silent for a few moments, which made the black haired teen's heart beat faster. He had a feeling that a question like this would kill the joyness. Yet, he knew it was the right time to asked the said question.

His eyes focused on everybody, waiting for someone to answer and it didn't took too long.

"Don't worry man, you're part of the team now!" Naruto was the one spoke, giving a grin. The rest automatically followed with slight cheers coming from the rookies and Mitsue.

Sai was taken by suprised as he was reduced to speechlessness, although he felt his heart being somewhat touched _."T-Thank you!"_ He could only released a couple of words.

Naruto simply nodded." That's right, now give me a five!" He added, while raising his hand.

Sai, on the other hand was bewildered. He wasn't sure what the blonde had mean't. Is he going to give him a 5 ryo coins or something else. As he was about to speak up, his attention was suddenly brought towards Mitsue and Showtaro, who gave a little secret demonstration for him to understand the whole process.

After a few moments, Sai nodded and did what he had learned and he gave the blonde a simple but very important high five.

From Boruto and Sarada's perspective, they were very much surprised on Inojin's dad didn't knew all the social tools and even just a simple high five, he didn't knew how to do it. Although, they were amazed on how he had come this far.

As the conversation continued, Yamato also had something in mind.

"Speaking of memberships, Has Lady Tsunade promoted you guys to Chunins yet?" He asked the two rookies and both of them shook their heads.

"Well, Lady Hokage told us that we're going to need to participate in more missions in order for us to get to the Chunin Level." Sarada informed the brown haired man.

Boruto then stepped in." For the meantime, we'll be participating as observers." He added, before continuing." Which is a great learning experience for us to be honest." He gave a slight chuckle.

Yamato nodded in understanding." Oh I see." He too was surprised that the two hadn't been promoted yet. Although, considering their current situation, they really need to gain more experience.

" **Then that means, I'm not left behind Dattebayo!"**

Everybody's attention then turned toward the blonde, who was somewhat celebrating.

"What do you mean?" Sai asked, he wasn't sure what's going on with him.

Naruto gave a sigh relief as he proudly smiled." Well, as you all know, I am still a genin." He explained and continued." Which means that they are Genins just like me." He added." As matter of a fact, I am happy because I now have companions on this road to achieve the highest Shinobi rank of all time!" He finished with excitement.

"And what is that rank?" Sai added a question.

"To become Hokage of the village of course!" Naruto simply replied as he then turned his eyes towards the pink haired teen." And of course, when I became Hokage, I'll send you hundreds of flowers, Sakura-chan!" He added.

There was silence that took for a few moments, everyone had different reactions to his statement. Sai was loss for words, while Yamato was trying to be understandable, Mitsue was caught in the moment, while Showtaro was quiet yet he was listening.

Sakura rolled her eyes in annoyance." Oh please Naruto, don't do your proposals here." She said, as she ate her food. She wasn't expecting to be included in the topic.

As for Boruto and Sarada, they were just laughing their butts off. They too just realized that at this time around, the young seventh's heart was still going out on the pink haired teen. It was both a funny yet awkward issue for the both of them.

* * *

 **(Interview)**

 **"We find quite funny for the old man. He wasn't aware that in a few years time, he'll be dating mom. (Chuckles)**

 **-Boruto**

 **"I thought the same for Mama, but seriously if Lord Seventh ended up with Mama, then we'll cease to exist."**

 **-Sarada**

* * *

 **(MEANWHILE)**

As the night continued on more laughs and stories were exchange between, which means that everybody has finally reached the goal of having a peaceful evening for once. Once the dinner session had ended, everyone had went to their respective sleeping areas to finally rest for the night.

Showtaro stood alone near the shores of the lake as he gazed towards the beautiful night sky. This was the first time he had felt peace for once in awhile. All the stuff and events that he had gone through which led him to this, it was safe to say that this peace right now was worth it and deserving.

He gazed at the sky with his own controlled thoughts. His mind was trying to recapped the events that happened before. There were mixed emotions going around and he didn't know whether he should be crying, jumping for joy or just simply ignoring everything.

As he gazed towards the night sky, he wondered if all of this ordeals would finally end. He wanted to maintain his normal life to begin with and yet he still managed to get himself involved into the chaotic world of politics and a big conspiracy.

Would he still go on and continue the fight? or will he find himself one day locked in a chamber like Kaiga?

Showtaro shook his head as he took a deep breath. His recent thoughts were overwhelming him, so he decided to switch it to the more important things.

First of all, How was he gonna report all of these events to Miyuki? He needed to make sure that he would needed to connect all the dots the first.

"Hey, Showtaro!"

Just then a familiar voice called out to his name and turned around to see Boruto himself, whom he thought was asleep back at the main camp.

Showtaro gave a smile." Hey! you're still awake at this hour?" He asked the blonde.

Boruto simply nodded and smiled." Yup, simply can't sleep for now." He explained as he sat down on the grassy ground beside the duck and near the lake and while in the middle of the moonlight.

"Enough about me, but how are you doing so far?" Boruto asked his duck companion.

Showtaro gave a sigh." Well, same thing you're going through." He paused for a moment." and also trying to clear my mind and trying to organized it." He explained.

"Oh I see." Boruto simply nodded." I guess you went through hell, back at that hideout." He guessed.

Showtaro nodded in response." Yeah, it's been a hell of a ride." He commented." Now I know how it feels like losing a friend." He added.

Silence had took over for a brief moment. Boruto could only give a sad smile and sympathized. He had just recently found out that the Otsutsuki, whom they rescued, was killed in battle. The blonde thought about the identity of the killer, He/She must be having that Otsutsuki power up.

"Well, it was actually a member of that organization that was responsible for attacking us." Showtaro explained." A young woman to be exact."

Boruto gave a surprised expression." Really?" He said, before continuing." I thought there was only one?" He said, wondering on who could be that other culprit.

Showtaro simply shook his head." Well, I guess there's one that attacked you guys and another one that attacked us." He added.

Boruto nodded in understanding." Oh I see." He said." Can't imagine a young woman being part of that organization." He added, before remembering a certain theory. " Although, if they are from the Pure Land, then that must mean they are dead people as well?" He asked.

Showtaro gave a shrugged." We can't say that they are." He replied." There'll be lot of theories until an official finding could be concluded." He explained, while the other nodded in understanding.

"I arrived in this world with a goal of searching for answers." He explained." Back in the Pure Land, Everything is controlled by the council or we could say Authorities." He said, before continuing." Everybody is led to believed that things are still alright, when in truth, they are not."

Boruto found himself being surprised by the duck's statement. He already knew about the basics of what Miyuki had told them before but all of this was further expanded and detailed by Showtaro himself.

"When Kami sacrficed himself to save the world and the entirety of all existence, He made sure that nobody would ever get hands on any power." Showtaro explained, as he gazed towards the night sky.

"So what did he do?" Boruto asked, with curiousness.

Showtaro then took a deep breath." Well, as you Miyuki told you before, He gave his own power to keep the world alive so that you could all live." He said." The Essence that keeps this world alive is actually his own and that same energy secretly co-exists with the Pure Land." He said.

"Oh I see." Boruto nodded in understanding." So is chakra connected to that energy?" He asked.

"All I could say is that Chakra is just a part of that energy that goes around." Showtaro explained.

Boruto nodded." I see, but why do you think everything is in danger?" He asked.

There was quietness that took over for awhile. Showtaro took the time to think about where to start, He didn't knew how to explain this but he needed to inform the blonde at least.

"Because both worlds are dying." He simply said, before continuing." Due to the certain greediness of certain individuals much like the council members, they took interest in this power and with a little help of connections, they began to harness this power and slowly but surely the two worlds were dying.

As per Showtaro's statement, almost all of everyone in the Pure Land had been losing trust and hope towards the higher powers. With Kami gone, there was an ongoing struggle power, which caused a certain unbalance amongst the two worlds.

"Well, I have to say that a lot of people in this world, still believed that Kami is still existing." Showtaro commented." It still baffles me on why you still pray and ask for his help." He added.

Boruto gave a slight chuckle." I know." He said." Sometimes, you just wonder on why we still keep our hopes and faiths up." He explained." I guess it's a part of our nature to live and survive." He said." That includes strength our spiritual ties Kami, no matter what happens."

"I've lost my home, my family, friends and my former life, yet I still wonder on how am I alive right now." Boruto explained, as he gazed towards the stars.

"I still thank Kami everyday, that I am still alive." He added.

Showtaro was a bit amazed on how the blonde had responded. To be honest, this kid was different that he had ever met before and he could see all the determination in him.

"Say Showtaro-san?"

The blonde teen called up his name for one more time.

"Yeah?"

"Do you think we are allowed to go to the Pure Land?" He asked, before continuing." Well, I mean if you could take us there to show us around?" He asked.

Showtaro then gave a small confident smile." It's possible for one to go to the Pure Land, while He/She is still alive." He said, before continuing on." Although, only Miyuki knows the process to be Honest and I think you should better ask her."

Boruto nodded in understanding." I will" He commented as he then laid on the grass to fully watch the stars." I guess that's a wrap for the night Dattebasa." He yawned.

Showtaro sighed as the duck decided to join the blonde and he let himself collapse on the grassy ground." Woah, I never felt this so relaxed!" He commented as he finally found the relaxation and peace that he was looking for all this time.

"Thank you!" He muttered.

In that moment in time, an Aurora appeared throughout the night sky and amongst the stars, it shown its beauty alongside the majestic moon. Both Boruto and Showtaro quickly took noticed of the wonderful scene and were in awe of it.

"I guess Kami is telling us to rest for awhile." Boruto commented as the blonde formed a smile on his lips while his consciousness faded away to slumber.

Same thing did go for Showtaro as the duck decided to go with the flow." I guess, you're right." He commented, finally realizing a certain idea.

"Maybe, Kami is still alive within us."

As the night continued on, it was now safe to say that they had finally finished the mission. The whole journey really brought them to the edge. The challenges that they faced, the many wins and losses that befell them and determination and perseverance that they fully gave to overcome this mission.

As for now, they truly deserved the rest that they have.

 **CHAPTER END**

* * *

 **(Interview)**

 **"The whole mission was filled with ups and downs, it really brought us the realization that there even more missions, which are more tougher than, to come in the near future.**

 **-Boruto**

 **"Aside from all that happened, we didn't get enough information regarding identity of this mysterious organization, and still we are back to the drawing board for now.**

 **-Showtaro**

* * *

 **AN: Thank you for reading the chapter**!

 **Phew! Arc 3 was quite the journey and I'm glad to have finally wrapped things up here, I will be taking a short break for awhile to plan the plot for the next arc. I'm not sure whether to adapt the fillers in the anime or the plots in the movies or should I go directly for the Canon plot in the manga.**

 **Feel free to PM me, if you have any ideas for the next arc :)**


	72. Arc 4: Preview Scenes

**AN: Here are some of the preview scenes of the next arc, which are randomized, meaning they took places at different times in the Arc. Take note, I might also change these scenes for a little bit along the way.**

* * *

 **Arc 4 Preview Scenes**

Alas the two culprits had finally been caught.

In a sunny and peaceful day at the park saw Miyuki apprehending two unlikely stalkers, who were following the teenage Uzumaki all day long. It was strange since these two weren't familiar to her. They even looked like they were really out to get her or was it just their grumpy faces?

The restaurant was a weird place for a secret conversation.

Itachi and Kurama sat down on their seats as they continously stared and observed the person responsible for beating them up. A simple unknown little girl, who was now giving them a stern and strict look. Both wondered on how did this little girl could hold her own.

Both of the two felt like they were kids caught and placed on detention by their principal. The description didn't actually quite fit for the twenty something year old man and a thousand year old nine tailed fox, yet they were just in the perfect place and perfect time to show off their slight guilty faces.

" _ **Dammit, Why do I have to sit here and listen? I needed to know answers and...Himawari!"**_

Kurama was ranting inside his head. It wasn't the time for patience since he finally had ran out of it. Although, fate was telling him to calm down at the same time. It was an ongoing struggle.

His eyes kept staring at the so called " _ **Little girl**_ " He recalled meeting her before at the festival yet for only just a brief moment, He wondered yet again if this girl wasn't just an ordinary little girl.

As for Itachi, he was having the same thoughts about the little girl minus the stubborness and impatience of complaining. He was defeated by not engaging against her in a battle but by just staring at her eyes. She didn't have any Doujutsu or whatsoever but by just looking at those eyes was enough for him to get a little chill on his spine.

He could sense something very powerful in this little girl or was she really a little girl to begin with?"

As time continued on, their thoughts were all interrupted at the same time by the young lady. Both of them, in a synchronized way, looked up and saw her giving a small smile of greetings.

"Well, it would be nice if you could tell me about yourselves first."

* * *

 **(NEXT SCENE)**

The ambience of the place was that of what she has expected, even until now, she could see the endless customers going in and out of the shop, or was it shop?

It was in fact a Salon to be exact, where you can literally turn your hair into different shapes and angles or even dye it into many colors you want. It was the place's specialty and it was up and coming, especially for the youth.

Himawari sat down on the chair, facing the huge mirror as she finally had her turn. She had been waiting for quite sometime now In fact, she had arrived at the parlor earlier than the usual time and still there was a little frustration which caught with her since she was forced to wait for almost an hour.

A big sigh of relief came right away, when the lines were surprisingly in a good flow. It turns out that the parlor was in full force today with all staff members in attendance. A smile then formed around the lavender haired girl's lips since that hour of waiting was reduced to 20 minutes of waiting.

The lavender haired teen observed herself at the mirror, her eyes focusing on her messy hair, which was slowly turning curly like instant noodles.

 _"No wonder Granny Tsunade, called me a perm girl."_ Himawari thought to herself as she gave a little chuckle, the blonde woman was really a hair expert.

It didn't took long enough as staff member of the parlor finally approached the teen. As the staff member was about to ask the teen regarding process, the Uzumaki girl quickly beaten her to it.

"Uhmm, a rebond and a little bit of haircut would be nice, miss staff member-san" The girl gave a smile while the staff member simply nodded as she headed off to get the necessary equipment for the rebond

For about a few moments, Himawari took the time to looked at her surroundings. At the same time, the empty seat beside her had been finally occupied by a new customer, to which the lavender haired teen had noticed.

The customer was revealed to be that of a young woman in her early twenties. She had long silver hair, which was unkempt unkempt, with little two spikes on the front which resembled two antennae, she also had light emerald green eyes. She wore a civilian clothing, which consists of a white shirt, belt, and a black dress, and a turquoise jacket and brown boots.

Himawari took a little time to observed the new customer. She gave this slight puzzled look. She wondered if she had met this person before.

At the same time, the young woman took noticed of her, and she turned her eyes towards the lavender haired teen." What are you looking at?" She asked, with a sassy tone.

Unaffected by the young woman's strong attitude, the Uzumaki girl smiled." So what are you in for?" She asked.

As for the young woman, she got what the girl had said." A rebond and a haircut." She replied, as she took a magazine on the nearby table and started flipping through the pages.

"Oh I see, I guess you're a patron here huh?" Himawari followed another question.

This time, the young woman sighed." Well, not really, I happened to stumble upon this place while searching for a parlor shop at the west side." She explained.

Himawari nodded in understanding." Oh, the west side of the village is full of barber shops, I won't advice you to go there for a rebond" She explained with a slight chuckle.

The young woman stared at the teen with an amused face." Well duh? Barber's don't rebond." She commented while rolling her eyes in sassiness.

Himawari then gave a friendly smile." You're new here aren't you?" She asked.

The young woman raised an eyebrow." Yes, How do you know?" She asked, giving a slight confused face.

"Well, just a guess." The lavender haired teen replied with a shrug, before continuing." I am Himawari by the way." She then introduced herself.

For a few moments then young woman observed the teenage girl before forming a small confident smile.

"Yuko, nice to meet you!."

* * *

 **(NEXT SCENE)**

Nostalgia always played a great factor everytime a memory would just come by or even after seeing a place that would take him back in the old days.

The village was teeming with life in the midst of a sunny early afternoon. Families were bonding around the parks and businesses were widely opened for the many customers that flocked in.

Sasuke didn't have any recollection of himself visiting the village when he was a teenager back then. He knew he had other goals to achieve during that time. Although, he can't say that he was going to re-follow that all over again.

Donning a civilian clothing, which consists of a dark violet thin jacket, with a black t shirt under, and dark blue pants and a cap to hide his identity. Sasuke felt a bit uncomfortable wearing this type of outfit yet this was the cheapest that he could get off a store.

He wondered on why all throughout this time as a teenager, he was wearing all these weird outfits before. He really didn't have that kind of fashion sense but somehow he still managed to retain that attractive appearance to the so called fan girls.

Sasuke walked along the streets of the village. He had a hard time memorizing every direction since he had forgotten what the place had looked like years ago, with the exception of the Uchiha compound, the Hokage building, and the training grounds.

He had one goal in his head, and that is to locate the exact area where his daughter and student, who apparently was currently residing somewhere around here.

There was little excitement building up inside of him. He can't wait to see them again and it's been about several weeks since he last encounter them back at the former hideout.

This time he was going to make sure that he'll bring out that family bonding, which was apparently been in limbo for a very long time now. His eyes then darted to his watch before continuing on with a final thought.

"I still have time."

 **(END OF PREVIEWS)**

* * *

 **AN: Thank you once again and take care!**


	73. Arc 4: Sunflowers

**Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto, but Mr. Kishimoto does.**

* * *

 **Arc 4: Sunflowers**

"Thank you for coming along Neji-nii!"

Himawari was full on smiles as she walked along the streets of the village along with the brown haired Hyuga. The sun was on it's peak and combined with the busy atmosphere, it was just perfect for the two.

"You're welcome Hima, It's the least I can do for awhile." Neji replied, taking a brief glance at the time through his small wrist watch." Before, I head back for training." He finished his statement with somewhat of a bored tone.

The Uzumaki girl took noticed of the expression and she immediately asked." Is being part of Team Gai really that bad for you?" She said with curiousity.

Now this made Neji widened his eyes, turning to the younger teen." Well, not that bad, I mean if you're a member of that team, you're gonna need to drink lots of energy boosters." He explained, trying to warn to his niece.

Himawari raised both eyebrows." Energy Boosters? I guess it would be really fun to be a member of your team" She said, before continuing on." And I guess Grandpa Gai is really is dedicated on the team." She added.

Neji gave a slight cringed. The thought of the training sessions began to fill his mind. The endless chicken chase segment and the long running marathons and the continous push-ups, were the ones that continue to bring him down. Although, no matter what happens, he's still not going to give up.

"Yeah, he is really dedicated." Neji commented, before continuing." Without his "Youth" Philosophy, I'm not sure whether if I can be fast as Lee nowadays." He gave a slight chuckle, he recalled how those two somehow share the same the spirit, which really baffled him.

Himawari nodded in understanding." Oh I see." She said." I wonder how that Philosophy works?" She wondered before continuing." Aside from that, Uncle Lee really is the spitting image of Metal Lee, or maybe the other way around?" She said.

"Metal Who?"

Neji was caught by curiousity as he immediately turned to his niece. He was now interested to learn more about this Metal Lee character that the girl had mentioned.

"Metal Lee." Himawari simply said, but by the time she focused her eyes on the brown haired Hyuga, she received confusion." Oh, I guess, I haven't told you about him yet." She added.

Neji raised both eyebrows." What about him though?" He asked, wanting to know more information.

Himawari nodded and smiled." Well, Metal Lee is kind of his son in the future." She replied back, expecting a certain reaction from the Hyuga.

Neji instead of giving another suprised." He has a son!?" He reacted inside his mind instead before proceeding to the next expression, He sighed.' Well, there's no doubt that he would have a son just like himself someday." He commented.

" _And why would Lee named his son Metal? and if there was going to be a another one, would he named it Bruce this time_?" Neji's inner thoughts entered the scene.

"Oh I see." Himawari simply nodded." It's probably in the genes, they say that a father always has the stronger genes than a mother but it really depends." She explained." At least for me, I got this whiskers from my dad and this hair colour from my mom." She chuckled.

Neji gave a smile, before following up another question." Say Hima, What about me?" He asked." Do I finally get someone's heart in the future?" He asked, in the most figurative statement so far.

This time around Himawari became silent about the certain topic. Although the fact that she was expecting for the man to ask another question regarding the future once more, somehow still suprised her in a way. Another problem is that she hasn't prepared any fabricated story about her curious teenage uncle and just to answer him, she was going to make another story again on the spot.

"Oh man, Nii-chan is better at this." The Uzumaki girl thought. She could feel a little sweat falling from her head as she attempted to think of a reasonable story to let out.

The whole fabricating process was unexpectedly a tough one. In the girl's respective mind, there were these different imaginative scenarios flashing before her eyes. Scenes like Neji getting different girlfriends all over or him remaining completely single and untouched and then would go on living a very uneventful life.

There were just a lot of ways to interpret it. Himawari did in fact came up with a solution and she was going to tell him that he had gotten a certain girl with two buns in the future.

* * *

 **(Interview)**

 **"I was going to actually tell him that he married Aunt Tenten in the future, because that's what my mom and Aunt Hanabi would always talk about regarding Uncle Neji, that he secretly had feelings for her, and I'm not really sure if that was all true."**

 **-Himawari**

* * *

It was an inside urban legend among the family and she would frequently hear the story a lot of times from relatives and family friends. It was mystery that she had took interest years ago and it continued to mesmerised her until now. She realized that she had the opportunity to finally know the real truth behind the story.

As she was about to open her lips and ask the question, she was suddenly beaten to it by the brown haired teen.

"Uhmm, Nevermind about that." Neji gave a sigh. His instincts telling him to forget the the topic since learning more information about the future could cause unexpected ripples in time.

This also gave Himawari a breath of relief as she wouldn't have to entertain the topic throughout the journey instead she had received a much more simple question from her teenage uncle.

"So where are we heading off to by the way?" Neji asked, finally changing the topic for good. All this time, he had forgotten the destination that they are heading off to.

There was a brief of moment of quietness for the lavender haired teen as she stopped her tracks to a certain area on the village where several flower shops lined up on a certain small street.

Her eyes began to moved around as she surveyed the area, looking for a specific flower shop, which brought up the memories when she was just a little girl.

As for Neji, the man was a little confused, first off, why would the girl head to the only district in the village where the flower shops were all located? From what he remembered her niece had already bought a lot of sets not too long ago and he was the one that accompanied her.

There were so many question running around inside his head and he really tried to figure it all out.

* * *

 **(Interview)**

 **"I'm really not sure what has gotten into Hima, but I'm getting worried that she'd turned into a sunflower herself if she keeps that flower obssesion."**

 **-Neji**

* * *

There was a slight ache on his head as the stress got up to him. He quickly realized that the best way for him to figure this out was to just ask the question for him to get the answer.

Yes! That was in fact the only way. He just have to do it now. He took a deep breath as he gathered himself before releasing his words.

"Uhmmmm, Himawari I just wanted to ask you something, I-" Neji did't expected his sentence cut along the way as the girl suddenly made a little run towards the street.

"Found the shop!" Himawari exclaimed as she immediately made a little run for it. Her excitement had caught her in the nick of time.

As for Neji, he was left there speechless for a few moments." What in the..." He trailed off as he couldn't believed that his niece would do that to him. Hanabi would also do it sometimes during her shopping sprees." Oh kami please help!" The brown haired Hyuga muttered aloud as he too made a run for it just to catch up with her.

The little chase was uneventful yet unexpected for some of the passers by and citizens. They were confused on why two teenagers were running around the area. They mostly took pity on the brown haired Hyuga, who felt like a babysitter right now.

"Hima, Please slow down!"

Neji kept calling out to the girl as they passed through the street. His voice trying its best to get the girl's attention but the growing crowd was preventing him from attaining his desired objective.

"Hima!"

He kept calling again and it wasn't just working at all. At this time around, his concern was growing and he pushed himself again as it seemed that he was being separated from the girl even more. There was this little struggle that he chose to not bother and show.

There was this small pathway amongst the crowd that somehow helped him to move through. It also helped him to not lose sight of Himawari, who was now just a few distances away from him and at this moment in time he raised his right hand to reach her.

"Himawari!" He called up her name again.

At this moment in time, he felt a slight dizziness in his head and he closed his eyes for a brief moment, by the time he opened it again, he saw something very unexpecting at least for him.

It was not too far away from reality and it was revealed to be a kind of memory or perhaps a vision of somesort.

The scenario remained as it is but the surroundings slightly had changed. They were still at the same street but the area had somewhat had undergo a transformation. The whole area looked as if it had a twenty year progression. It looked more modern and futuristic to the teen's eyes to which brought up confusion and surprise.

"What the..." Neji trailed off in this thoughts. His attention was caught as he focused on a certain little lavender haired girl in front of him.

 _"Hurry up, Neji-nii! the flowers are waiting!"_

The little girl exclaimed as she turned around to face the teen.

Neji widened his eyes surprised" Himawari?" He muttered aloud. His eyes were now observing the little girl, who turned out to be a younger Himawari, she had this cute little smile which would make anyone's day happy.

The question was, why he was seeing this right now? It doesn't really make sense does it?

Sensing strange tiredness, Neji stopped his tracks once more. He was breathing in and out, trying to catch up his breath. He stopped on a certain spot where a glass window stood on his right. Somehow, a part of him was telling him to look on his right and he eventually did.

By the time he had turned to his right, he saw the glass window and his own reflection, which startled him.

In front of him, was a reflection of himself but older. He had aged and looked like he was in his early 30's. He wore a similar clothing to what he was wearing right now but more simple and had a darker colour.

For about several seconds, he stared at himself mesmerized and confused. Was this really real? an illusion? one of his normal daydreams? or something else?

* * *

 **(Interview)**

 **"My gut is telling me that it was a vision, but sometimes these visions are just made up inside our minds, But I still wonder if that my future or just a fabricated one."**

 **-Neji**

* * *

It was at this time that the dizziness began to fade away and moments later, he was finally brought back to his own reality.

"Neji-niisan..."

The faint familiar voice of Himawari was now calling him. The Older Hyuga immediately opened his eyes and saw the Uzumaki girl's concerned eyes.

"Himawari?" He muttered the name. He was just trying to make if this was his niece and yes it was really her to his own relief.

Several minutes had passed since her young uncle had suddenly felt dizzy, with the help of perfect timing, Himawari was able to catch him from falling to the ground. In her own eyes, she thought the man was going to faint right on the spot but to her own relief, he was alright and conscious.

"Are you okay Neji-nii?" She asked again.

Neji gave a slight groan, before he could let out his words." Hima, please don't go running off all a sudden." He told the girl.

Himawari was confused. What was he trying say? In truth, she didn't ran off suddenly, in fact she was just walking albeit in a more fast manner. It was a good thing, since that she sensed something was off and it was her young uncle.

As she was about to speak up, the brown haired Hyuga had waved her off as a sign that there's no importance in this current scene as of now.

"Nevermind me, I am alright." Neji assured the girl with a small smile as he began to recover up while the girl assisted her.

Himawari's worry slowly vanished as she continued to observed the older teen." Are you sure?" She asked for one more time.

Neji sighed but gave the girl an assuring nodded." Yes." He replied, before deciding to change the topic.

"So why do you want to buy flowers again?"

* * *

 **(FLOWERS)**

Business was often booming for the Yamanaka business. They were a clan of clever spies, who surprisingly operated a humble flower shop in one of the commercial streets of the village. Even though it was just only one shop, customers still flocked to buy flowers and it could go well for one certain light blonde haired teenage girl.

The shop was filled with customers and as usual she was the one considered as a frontliner to handle them one by one. It wasn't just the normal norm of barcoding every single set of flowers, she also had to deal with every little complains of some customers and also the physical task of keeping the area clean from any dust and dirt.

After most of the customers left the shop, the inside area now looked as if a storm had passed through it. In every moment like this she would gave a sigh and will right away grab the necesarry things to clean the place up once more before the second wave.

 _"The daylight's fading slowly_

 _The time with you is standing still_

 _I'm waiting for you only_

 _The slightest touch and I feel weak"_

The speakers were up and alive as it let through the music of a certain song which was currently on the charts.

 _"I cannot lie_

 _From you I can not hide_

 _I'm losing will to try_

 _Can't hide it_

 _Can't fight it"_

With the song was a certain voice of Ino Yamanaka, who was singing along with the tune while sweeping the dirt on the floor with a broom stick and a dustpan.

 _"So go on, go on_

 _Come on leave me breathless_

 _Tempt me, tease me_

 _'Till I can't deny this_

 _Loving feeling_

 _Let me long for your kiss_

 _Go on, go on_

 _Yeah come on"_

It was good thing that she temporarily brought the shop window coverings down for awhile just to sweep the floor and also hide herself from singing in her imaginative concert. She was slightly dancing around while getting the dirty particles on the dust pan.

Another reason for her singing was that she wanted to impress someone, there was no specific person but she just wanted to showcase her voice to the person, who would eventually become her boyfriend, but she really had no idea on who would be that dream boy of hers.

The only Uchiha in the village had left a long time ago and that really changed her perspective and she was now looking for a person with a quality attitude and not just coming from the looks.

As time passed by, the teenage Yamanaka had been in a zone as she kept herself on the flow. Unbeknowst to her, two certain individuals had entered the shop.

* * *

 **(INTERVIEW)**

 **"Despite the current position that I'm in now, I kind of actually like it!"**

 **-Ino**

* * *

"So this is the shop that you were talking about Hima?"

"Yup! This is the one Neji-niisan."

"Why does this shop look familiar to me?

Neji's mind was put into another guessing game once again. Besides being greeted by a very familiar ambience, the Hyuga continued to ponder the identity of this flower shop. He knew the smell of these flowers, the colors of the walls, it's like he had been here before.

Was is it an extreme case of De ja vu or a mere coincidence?

* * *

 **(INTERVIEW)**

 **"I've been into every flower shop in the village because of Hima, and maybe it was just a case of bad memory that I can't even remember this particular flower shop."**

 **-Neji**

* * *

As soon as they further explored the shop, they finally reached the main area where the only counter and cashier was stationed, they would find themselves being greeted by a very weird but familiar scene.

 _"It's like a dream_

 _Although I'm not asleep_

 _I never want to wake up_

 _Don't lose it_

 _Don't leave it_

 _"So go on, go on_

 _Come on leave me breathless_

 _Tempt me, tease me_

 _'Till I can't deny this_

 _Loving feeling_

 _Let me long for your kiss_

 _Go on, go on_

 _Yeah come on"_

Right in front of them was the one and only Ino Yamanaka singing, dancing, and sweeping the floor at the same time. Himawari and Neji both raised their eyebrows in surpised, soon their own reactions began to surface.

Himawari was amused, she immediately recognized the voice by the time she entered the premises and it was none other than her Aunt Ino, who was Inojin's mother back in the future. Now, she was just surprise to see her in an energetic mood.

As for Neji, the man was just wide eye staring at the blonde. This had to be the first time that he had seen her like that. He would soon then began to slowly cringed.

As for Ino, she finally finished the song at the same time. By the time the song ended, she gave this one final pose which caused unexpected applause in front of her.

She widened her eyes in surprised as she realized that there was someone already inside the shop. She quickly went away from her pose as she stood up straight with a slightly embarassed face.

She now stood facing one familiar individual and a certain girl.

"Neji? What a suprise!" The awkwardness immediately disappeared as she headed and greeted the Hyuga with a warm hug.

Neji gave a slight sigh and nodded." Yeah, it's me Ino." He replied back, while turning his eyes towards the lavender haired teen, giving her a weird look.

Himawari gave a small smile in response.

"What brings you here by the way?" The blonde girl asked with curiousity.

Neji gave a slight shrugged." Well, just here to buy some flowers." He simply said, causing the blonde girl to react.

"Flowers? But I thought you grow your own?" Ino asked with both eyebrows raised.

"Well, yes I do grow my own plants and flowers but I'm just here to accompany my friend here." Neji replied as he introduced the lavender haired girl to her.

Himawari gave a smile and offer a hand as a sign of greeting." Hello, I am Himawari, but you can call me Hima for short." She finally got to join the conversation.

Ino warmly smiled back." It's nice to meet you, Hima." She said as she shook hands with the lavender haired girl." You can call me Ino by the way." She slightly chuckled.

"Nice to meet you too Ino-san!" Himawari smiled.

"So what type of flowers are you looking for?" Ino asked as she led the way to entertain her new customer.

"Well, actually I'm looking for something bright and yellowish.." Himawari explained as she too followed the blonde.

All that was left was Neji as the man found himself together with silence once more. His eyes focused on two and especially her niece, whom he was glad that she had finally met a new friend.

* * *

 **(INTERVIEW)**

 **"Well, I actually had this plan on slowly introducing them to the rest, but I shelved it a long time ago since life has gotten busy. Although, I'm always prepared for an opportunity and I wish Hanabi was also here to help."**

 **-Neji**

* * *

 **(MEANWHILE)**

Finding the flowers was just an easy task for the blonde Yamanaka. She was used to seeing flowers everyday even since she was a child. She was just naturally trained for this kind of thing.

From what is to be just a brief shopping of flowers had unexpectedly turned into something more.

As time passed by, the two girls quickly became friends. The combination of Himawari's ability to keep the conversation on a higher note and Ino's endless story telling had really made the day something else.

It was actually Ino, who had the most stories to tell and there was a reason for it after all.

"I'm sorry for being so talkative right now." Ino apologized with a small humble grin." It's just that It's been so long since I've actually had a very long talk with someone." She explained as she and the girl were heading back to the main area.

Himawari gave a surprised look." Oh I see." She said, before continuing." It's alright Ino-san, I actually like long conversations to be honest." She added with a smile.

Ino smiled back." Thank you so much!" She said." It's getting a bit boring here at the shop, there's no team trainings yet nor any new activities at the clinic."

Himawari nodded in understanding." It's boring alright." She commented, she just learned how Inojin's mom was this simple teenage girl, who is in-charge of handling the daily activities at the flower shop. Contrast to her future counterpart where she was a jack of all trades and a master at multi-tasking.

Her adult counterpart was the head of her own clan, a medical executive at the children's hospital, a business woman, and a team instructor. These were the things that that would popped up into her mind, everytime she meets the blonde back in her time.

It was so amazing on how in a short span of time that she would achieved all of those things. There must be an event that gave her so much maturity.

"You know Himawari-san, It's really tough having to balance your activities." Ino said, causing the other girl raised both eyebrows.

"Oh really?"

"Yeah, before this break, I've found myself being overwhelmed by all these activities." Ino explained." Being a Flower shop girl, a Shinobi, and a Medic-nin student at the same time is challenging." She gave a slight chuckle.

"It really brought me to tears at one point, but as time passes by, I began to realized that all of these things were important and also for my development as a person, as the saying goes." She added.

"So how are you doing nowadays? Himawari asked.

Ino gave a smile." I'm actually doing good so far, I'm really thankful to have this short break." She explained." It gives me time to prepare myself for future events." She added.

The Uzumaki girl nodded." That's great! I hope you can achieve your goal." She said.

"Thank you Hima!" Ino smiled back.

"You're welcome!"

Their conversation continued until they reached the main area. Himawari was also able to tell girl some basic backgrounds of herself such as she, her big brother, and her friend had recently moved in to the village and they were starting off a new chapter.

Neji can been standing in front of the magazine stand, near the counter, as he held a random magazine, to which he was reading it's contents out of curiosity. He would soon turn his attention towards the two girls, who had now arrived back from their long journey of finding the flowers.

As the two girls emerged from a certain pathway, still conversing, they were now interrupted by the man himself.

"So how did the flower shopping go?" He asked.

Himawari smiled." Well, finally got them!" She replied as she presented the flowers which was revealed to be a bouquet of sunflowers with a yellowish tint on its sides. As Ino headed to the counter, the conversation had transferred towards the niece and uncle.

"Sunflowers? really fits you to be honest." Neji commented, giving a slight chuckle.

Himawari gave a playful smile." Oh like I heard that before from Boru-nii." She commented.

Neji shook his head and gave a pass. It's only joke that he could think off right now.

* * *

 **(INTERVIEW)**

 **"I'm not really good at making jokes but is the least I can do to add humour in the story."**

 **-Neji**

* * *

"Well, I do find it funny." An amused Ino spoke this time garnering the attention of the two.

Neji gave a pout while Himawari grinned.

"He's improving." The lavender haired teen commented as she placed the bouquet of sunflowers on the counter.

Ino on the other hand, smiled." I can see that." She said, before continuing." May I ask, what are you going to do with these sunflowers?"

There was a brief moment of silence that took over. Himawari didn't knew how to explain the main reason as she headed for the simplest answer that she could think off.

"Well, it's for my mom and dad." She simply said, causing the other two to look at her in surprised, especially Neji.

"What do you mean?" A confused Neji asked.

Ino would soon get the statement." Oh I see." She said." I hope everything is alright." She smiled as she handed the bouquet of sunflowers now inside a brown paper bag.

Himawari gave a small smile." Don't worry, everything's fine." She said, before continuing." I guess, we'll see you again sometime." She added, as she proceeded to head towards exit door.

"Take care!" Ino waved her goodbye while a slightly dumbfounded Neji was left with a still very confused expression." Wait a sec, what do you mean by "Everything is Alright." He said.

As for Ino, the girl just gave a shrug." Well, I think it's better for you to ask her about it." She replied with a smile.

Neji gave a sigh as the brown haired teen turned his attention towards the window, where the other girl was now waiting for him. For a few moments he decided to dive into his thoughts as he wondered about those flowers.

* * *

 **(INTERVIEW)**

 **"I really didn't get the whole purpose of the flowers to be honest, I wish I could've figured it out like Ino did back there and I really hope everything is really alright."**

 **-Neji**

 **"Well, I'm a bit feeling guilty for not telling him but I might as well show Neji-nii the place."**

 **-Himawari**

* * *

 **(MEANWHILE)**

"Thank you so much for bringing back my pet!"

Yet another praise was heard for the twentieth time in a day. The client was overjoyed as she thanked the services of a certain boy, who stood in front of them all.

Konohamaru was scratching the back of his head and had a huge shy but humble grin as the praises just overwhelmed his ears. It was streak not to be forgotten and it was the first time a Genin had completed twenty straight D-rank missions in one day.

A new record.

In a Hokage office occupied by the fifth herself, Team Ebisu, and their latest client, who was another wealthy business woman, who had lost her pet chihuahua, while walking along the busy streets of the village.

"I must admit you're team is the best in the village!" The overjoyed woman commented." I'll make sure you three will get free lunch today at the restaurant!" She added.

Konohamaru stood a little ahead of his teammates, who somehow had a amused expression towards him, as he gave slight humble grin to the woman." It's no big deal Ma'am! We're just doing our jobs that all hehe." He gave a sheepishly chuckle while throwing a littke elbow on his back pack.

"Stop it!"

There was a faint voice which can be heard echoing from the bag.

Moegi narrowed her eyes in suspicion at the boy while Udon gave a sleepy yawn as usual. Ebisu was as his usual self of being goofy and dumbfounded, proudly commending the team for a great run once again.

The business woman nodded in understanding but still kept the happy smile." Oh I see, but still if you three need a free eat, just head to the restaurant and I'll take care all of it!" She explained before picking up her pet chihuahua and headed towards the door." Thank you again for your service!"

The door slammed shut as silence took over once more.

"That's the twentieth time you guys accomplished D- rank mission today." Tsunade commented, giving an amused smile." I'm impressed!" She added.

Konohamaru gave a smile." Well, It's take hardwork and dedication to accomplished it all!" He said with a little bit of confidence in his voice, gripping the handles of his backpack.

"Am I right guys!" He then turned around to face his teammates, who were in a very unprepared and awkward manner.

Moegi rolled her eyes in response." Whatever..." She replied.

"Zzzzzzzz, I-I mean Yes I agree with ya!" Udon, who had apparently fallen to a short nap, suddenly woke up and replied to the boy's question.

His lips slowly came into an awkward grin." Oh I guess, I'll take that as as Yes." Konohamaru said as he placed his hands on his hips.

"Ahem!"

Tsunade then interrupted the whole conversation to get the rest of everyone's attention once more.

"Anyways, to conclude this meeting, I'm giving your team a day's off tomorrow since you guys have taken up the D- rank missions originally for that day itself." She explained, looking at a certain couple of documents. She was amazed the fact that all these D-rank missions were also a bit tough for the other upcoming Genin teams and that Team Ebisu itself managed to do accomplished all twenty of it in one day.

"That's cool!" Konohamaru reacted, his lips turning into a wide grin." You're really the best Granny Hokage!" He commented, making a fist in the air.

Tsunade's nerve slight twitched, yet she managed to control herself from reacting and instead a force a smile." Yeah I heard that." She said, before giving a sigh." Anyways, you're all dismissed for today." She added.

"Yes!" All of the boys exclaimed in unison, it seemed that their excitement had gotten the best of them.

In less than seconds, Team Ebisu immediately left the office as everybody seemed to have their own business as well. Quietness took charged once more when they left leaving the older blonde with her thoughts.

Tsunade rested on her seat and turned around to face the open window behind her. Her eyes were greeted by the bright sunlight. She checked the time and it was already in the late morning.

She took a deep breath as her thoughts wandered off again. This time she focused herself on wondering about a certain team." How are they?" She asked herself, going a bit into worry. She was having second thoughts lately about sending the two teens again on this S-rank mission of retrieving the Uchiha back.

There was a part of her that kept blaming herself for sending the two to unknown territories, yet she could only hope for the best results whether they succeeded or not, she wanted them to arrive home safely.

Besides Himawari, she had already viewed the two as family. Boruto was already like a second Nawaki to her or basically a grandson and as for Sarada, she planned on taking her as her student once there's an opportunity when they arrived back.

She was aware what Miyuki had told her about the trio. It sounded a bit far fetched in the beginning but somehow, slowly it really did made sense that they were the only hopes of saving everything

She didn't want to think about the possiblity of her role being reduced and she promised to herself that she will do everything she can to just to protect them. These three arrived from a broken future, they don't want anything anymore but to just start a new life and live peacefully. They were alright of having a small apartment as their new home, they were the ones that went through great pain yet they still were nice and kind to anyone.

They were the ones that were slowly changing things around and even also to her life.

* * *

 **(INTERVIEW)**

 **"I swore to myself that If anyone were to hurt them, I'll make sure they're going to feel the wrath of the fifth! they're going to have to answer me!**

 **-Tsunade**

* * *

 **(LATER ON)**

"Alright Konohamaru, mind telling me what's going on with you lately?"

It was the question that gave the boy a little bit of nervousness inside him. Walking ahead of his two teammates, he stopped his tracks and turned to face a very suspicious Moegi and a curious Udon, their instructor had left for a meeting leaving them the only ones outside the building.

"What do you mean?" Konohamaru raised both eyebrows." Of course, everything is alright with me." He gave a slight chuckle to an unfazed girl.

 **"No! nothing is alright when I'm trapped inside this backpack!"**

There was a husky voice that interrupted the conversation and the source came from the back pack itself. Konohamaru was quick to react as he secretly gave his back pack a smack from behind. causing the voice to go "Oof!"

"Be quiet man!" Konohamaru secretly whispered before turning his attention back to them once more with a slightly nervous grin.

Moegi raised an eyebrow." You know nowadays, everytime we begin the mission, you already seemed to catch those cats and dogs in less than two minutes." She explained." Mind telling us on what kind of weird techniques are you using?" She asked, folding her arms. She wanted to know the truth if her teammate was cheating their way out of the missions.

"Yeah, and why do you always talk to your backpack? Can you get me one too?" A smiling Udon spoke this time with curiosity and interest.

Moegi gave a more suspicious look, eyeing the backpack itself." What's inside that backpack?" She asked, wanting to know its mysterious contents.

Konohamaru slightly gulped. He was finding the best excuses as of now to leave the scene yet, he was already too late. He could feel a sweat falling from his forehead.

At the same time, his back pack was now slowly getting out of control a certain fox was trying to force his way out causing another struggle for the boy.

With the combination of his teammates curiosity, Kurama's annoying struggle, and the pressure that he was receiving right now, the young Sarutobi decided to just scram his way out of here.

Although, as he was about to make a run for it, he suddenly felt an extreme heatness from his backpack. His back now felt as if he was laying on a very hot frying pan. Meanwhile inside the backpack, was Kurama, with a devious looking smile as he was the one responsible for that surprising heat.

* * *

 **(INTERVIEW)**

 **"Oh boy, I really did enjoyed it! I knew it would be childish to do so but It felt really good to prank the kid while he's cornered." (Chuckles)**

 **-Kurama**

* * *

It seemed that Naruto's pranking habits had gotten into him as he used little furry fingers to channel a little bit of his chakra to produce heat and he placed it on the soft fibre materials of the backpack.

The fox was laughing all the way in triumph. This was the only way for him to get out of this inferious backpack and he was expecting victory soon.

Although, it wasn't the results that he had expected. In some way, he was able to received the passage out yet the way he would get out was different altogether.

Meanwhile, the heat was overwhelming that it almost turned Konohamaru into a fried bacon, that he immediately remove the back pack without hesitating, and threw it on the ground. As he threw it on the ground, the main compartment of the backpack opened and there a little furry fox came out of it and hit the ground hard.

Kurama was expecting to get his head landing on the ground. Several seconds ago he was laughing his butt off, now he was cringing in pain as he found himself rubbing his head in front of the trio.

 **"Dammit Kid! I was just playing with you!** " The fox was exclaiming as if he was the victim. He gave a furious but cute expression towards the boy." **It's your fault that I hit my head!"**

Konohamaru was a bit taken aback." Woah, Now it's my fault?" He replied back." You were the one that started it furball!"

 **"FYI, It was a prank! P-R-A-N-K, a prank.** " Kurama argued back. He won't be backing down just yet.

"Wow, I've been pranked by Kuu-chan! How cool is that! I guess it's lame!" The boy fired back.

As the argument continued on, Moegi and Udon found themselves watching the scene unfold. Both of them were very much shocked and surprised that there was a talking fox, arguing with the boy, in front of them. Both were wondering why their teammate has been keeping that fox for a very long time inside his backpack and was it really responsible for the twenty successful D-rank mission?

"Man, never seen a talking fox before." Udon commented, before giving an interested grin." But, it's cool by the way!" He added." What about you Moegi?" He asked.

As for Moegi, she was in a mysterious mood. She just stared and observed them, especially the fox himself. A little later passed, she headed towards the main scene with a surprising intention.

As their argument continued on, both Konohamaru and Kurama were unaware that the girl was approaching them.

I thought we talked about this Kuu-chan? If they saw you, we'll get in trouble!"

 **"Come on Konohamaru, you don't need to worry about tha-"** Kurama was about to finish his sentence when he was suddenly whisked away by unexpected hands.

Konohamaru was too taken by surprised as he looked up to see his teammate, who was now cuddling the poor dumbfounded fox." What the heck Moegi!?" He exclaimed.

"Awwww, He's sooooo cute!" A very Kawaii affected Moegi commented, as she was now cuddling the poor crimson fox nonstop.

Both Konohamaru and Udon were dumbfounded as they found themselves watching a new scene. Both weren't sure on what to do as of now since things had gotten different a new.

* * *

 **(INTERVIEW)**

 **"Well, I didn't expect that this would turned out very awkward, but still Kuu-chan started and he deserved that Karma!""**

 **-Konohamaru**

 **"Oh man, where did Konohamaru get the talking fox? I want one too!"**

 **-Udon**

 **"I don't know what to say right now, I guess the kid got the last laugh."**

 **Kurama**

* * *

 **(MEANWHILE)**

Passing by the busy and noisy streets was a normal routine for Neji. He walked alongside the lavender haired teen heading towards a certain destination to which he yet to know about.

For that duration of the time, he was observing his niece, trying to figure out the reason why she needed flowers at a time where she doesn't really need it all. There were a couple of things that came into him as ideas. One is that the girl bought the flowers to give it to an important person and other ome is that flowers were for a certain grave at the local memorial park.

It could be either of those two but he still was unsure of it.

Another thought came again and he wondered about the vision that he saw awhile ago. He was still confused by it. He didn't know what was really happening. Only the most craziest thing that he could think off was that he was in between reality and the next.

* * *

 **(INTERVIEW)**

 **"Well due to overthinking, I guess that caused me to see things that I wasn't supposed to see. Maybe next time, I would see my own death played in the near future."**

 **-Neji**

* * *

He secretly sighed to himself. Why was he still pondering about the possible scenarios that he will eventually see it for himself. He sometimes disliked himself for overthinking too much even the smallest things. No wonder why Hanabi would sometimes call him "Oldie Neji" because he would looked like he had aged forty years just the fact he was thinking a lot of things.

But then there was this certain smile that would somehow calmed his mind.

"Uncle Neji?"

Then a familiar voice brought him back to reality and he saw Himawari with that certain smile. He blinked a couple times before realizing that he was now in a different place far away from the crowded and busy streets. Instead, he found himself facing a certain area old pathway near a local public park.

"We're here." Himawari said as the girl nodded as a sign that he should follow her thereafter.

The pathway which led to a main area was calmly quiet. The trees surrounding place were rustling due to the windy weather as they walked through that certain path.

Neji was now becoming observant once more. He couldn't help but move his eyes around just to survey area, if anyone were to ask him why, he would just tell anyone that he was just making sure that the place was safe and clear.

As for Himawari, she was aware of what her teenage uncle had been doing recently and she just felt a little bit guilty for making him to think too much. She was finally glad that they finally arrived at the said place.

She stopped her tracks at the said spot as she focused her eyes on a certain stone placed under a tree. As the sunlight had penetrated through the leaves and branches, shining upon the stone revealing a set of characters engraved on the stone itself.

It read _"Home"_ as a whole.

Himawari smiled as she slowly headed towards the tree, with a contained excitement. Neji also followed from behind, Once she got there, she reached for the stone and touched upper part.

"Hello, Mama and Papa, sorry I haven't got a chance to visit in awhile." The Uzumaki girl said, as she dusted of some leaves that were on the stone itself.

Holding the bouquet of sunflowers, she placed them on the grassy ground near the stone. For about a few moments, she closed her eyes and said a faint little prayer while the wind blew passed by.

There was silence that took over area. Neji stood in front of the spot as he observed the scene unfolding.

* * *

 **(INTERVIEW)**

 **"I stood there watching Hima conversing with the stone itself. I eventually was beginning to realized on what was this all about."**

 **-Neji**

* * *

Himawari stood up as she finally finished saying her little prayer. She gave her teenage uncle a smile and she was now prepared to explain everything about the stone.

She took a deep breath and opened her lips" I guess, you've been wondering why there's a marker here in the middle of a training ground." She said, with a slight chuckle while Neji nodded.

"It was actually Nii-chan that made all of this." Himawari explained." During the first few weeks of settling down, he came home to the apartment, excited and eager to show me and Sarada-nee something." She continued." And He brought us all the way over here."

Neji nodded" I see, but what's the stone for?" He asked, curious and interested on learning the story.

Himawari took a deep breath as she observed the stone." Well, it's kind of hard to explain but this stone actually represents our home, the future that we lived in." She explained, as the memories came up to her mind once more.

"But why does it looked so much like a grave?" Neji asked, observing the stone.

Himawari gave a little chuckle." That's what we thought when we first saw it, but Nii-chan explained to us that this stone is a reminder for us on what we are here to protect." She explained.

"To protect what?" Neji asked.

For a few moments, the Uzumaki girl stayed quiet. She closed her eyes as she remembered all the wonderful times that she had spent with her family, friend, and the home to which she grew up in.

"Our Future." Himawari simply said, before continuing on." We made a promised on that day, and that promise is to protect this village so that you all may have a better future." She said.

It was at this time that tears began to fell from her eyes and she began to sob.

Neji, whose instincts quickly took over, as he rushed towards the girl." Hima." He said her name as he pulled her into a hug.

"W-We were supposed to die back home." Himawari said." I still wonder why we were spared, I'm not like the rest, I'm just a girl, who just wanted to have a normal life." She added, remembering the fateful day when here "Home" had died and a certain person to which she treated as a big brother was the one responsible for it.

"B-But I'm still thankful that Kami-sama had given us a second chance to start again."

Neji stared at the girl right through the eyes, giving a sad smile, he comforted her." Hima, you don't have to think all about this, the past is the past, now you look forward for a brighter future." He said as the girl looked up to him.

He continued." If you're job is to protect us so that we may have a future, then I guess it's also our job too to make sure that you guys will live a normal life here." He explained, placing his hand on her shoulders.

He then smiled." Don't worry, your Aunt Hanabi and I we'll always be there for you, your big brother and Sarada-san." He added." And we'll make sure that we'll reached the finish line together." He said.

There was quietness that took over once more. Himawari wiped the tears from her eyes as she then went for the another hug towards her Uncle.

"Thank you, Neji-nii!" Himawari said while hugging the man.

Neji smiled as she accepted the girl's hug. In that stretch of moments, his thoughts came into the picture once more. He was glad to have the opportunity to see his niece once more after a very busy stretch of team training and activities. He did hope for the same with his cousin, that they will eventually find the time to bond with the girl.

It was at time too that another small vision had slipped once again. This time he saw Himawari but as a little girl looking up to him with a big smile on her face. This time the brown haired Hyuga didn't bother it but he chose to understand what the vision was trying to tell him.

* * *

 **(INTERVIEW)**

 **"I felt really proud to have this role right now. I can't speak for Hanabi, but she's also proud for being young Aunt, we're going to be by their side until the end and I hope whatever this visions are I'm glad that their on a positive note."**

 **-Neji**

" **In these kinds of situations, I'm very much lucky to have these people, who continue to understand and support, Uncle Neji was that kind of person.**

 **-Himawari**

* * *

 **(MEANWHILE)**

It had been a long time since Kurama was bombarded by endless words. These words were not deadly, not offending, but a little bit annoying. Sitting down on a certain sofa seat, he found himself observing two familiar kids in the form of Moegi and Udon, who had been staring at him for quiet sometime now. Along with them was their unlimited stories and questions to which they couldn't stop sharing to him.

In the midst of that, the crimson fox turned his gaze towards his right to see Konohamaru had not returned to his yet, since he had to go to the restroom to released something that would save the rest of his time.

He turned his attention back to the two and they were still doing what they were commonly doing. The fox gave a sigh as he finally decided to entertain them for awhile.

"You know, you do looked like my previous pet to be honest." Udon commented, still observing the fox.

Kurama gave him a bored stare." **And what kind of that pet is that four eyes kid?** " He asked.

Udon scratched his chin as he tried to remember his particular pet." Well, it looked like a dog, behaved like a cat, and sounded like a dolphin when she barks... So what was it called again?" He began to wonder.

Kurama raised an eyebrow." **You mean a fox?** " He asked, to which suprised the kid.

"Yeah! that's it! Haru-chan was a fox!" Udon finally remembered with the help of the other. He remembered how his pet was the best friend that he never expected.

Kurama raised an eyebrow, the fox was a bit curious." **You talk as if your pet is gone.** " He commented.

Udon gave a sigh." Yeah, Haru-chan was the best pet I've ever had since but she was gone too soon." He said.

 **"Wait on a sec, What happened to her?"** Kurama fired another curious question.

The boy once again stared at the ceiling for a few moments before he finally was able to recall a memory again." Well, she didn't passed away or something but I think she just ran off to nowhere one morning." He explained.

Kurama gave the boy an amused expression. **" Oh I see.** " He commented before asking another question." **What does she looked like by the way?** " He asked." **Is she crimson just like me?"**

 **"Well, she's pure white and beautiful to be honest.** " Udon replied back. There was a slight blush that appeared on his cheeks.

Kurama's curious and amused look disappeared as he then went into his bored expression once more. **" Just get a dog or a cat**." He replied." **It suits you better.** "

Udon thought about it for a few seconds before nodding in realization." You're right though." He then added." But still, I am confused that you can really talk!"

Kurama sighed." **It's because I'm a special fox that no one has seen before.** " He replied, with a little smirk." **And no one will ever get!"** He added.

His attention then switched towards the girl this time and he saw Moegi, with a kawaii smile towards him. Kurama gave another boring look." **Now, what's your issue?** " He asked.

As for Moegi, the girl just shook her head and continued to stare at the fox." Nah, I'm just wondering on why you're so cute!" She cooed.

Kurama could only sigh and shook his head." **You know what? Nevermind."** He said, as the conversation had suddenly ended.

It was at this time that the brown haired boy had came back from his journey. Konohamaru appeared from the right side as he greeted the rest of everyone.

"Sorry it took a long time at the restroom." He informed the rest with a grin." Didn't expect the lines would be that long." He added with a chuckle, while the rest just stared at him.

"So what did I miss?" He then asked, as he sat down on the restaurant couch.

Kurama sigh as he was the first one to speak." **Well just entertaining these kids, nothing much.** " He replied with a snarky tone.

"Oh cool! What did you tell them?" The boy then asked, while the fox slighly rolled his eyes.

Udon smiled as he spoke." You really got a good fox there that talks!" He commented, before continuing." Where you did you get him by the way?" He asked.

"Well, it's kind of a long story but Kuu-chan actually saved me while I was being chased by dogs and-" He was suddenly cut by his friend.

"Chase? Don't tell me you went through that shortcut again, people really don't go there anymore." Udon explained, with a surprised expression.

Konohamaru then sighed." Well, I was eager to get home as fast as possible, so yeah." He replied back.

Udon nodded." Well, I guess you wouldn't have met him if you didn't go there." He said.

A smile then went up along the boy's lips." Well, what can I say? Kurama-chan is my new best buddy right now hehe." He gave a grin as slightly petted the fox on his head.

Kurama didn't react but only made his usual deadpanned look. Yet, secretly he actually liked it. It was just that he wasn't good on showing his other emotions or rather a side of him that majority of everybody doesn't know.

His mind slowly wandered along with his eyes as he turned his attention slowly gazing towards the glass window. The huge number of citizen caught his attention as he continued to observed the busy scenery.

It was then that the memories came flooding back once again. The memories of the village's last stand before being consumed by destruction. He could hear the cries and screams of innocent people being slaughtered by the many forces of that bastard Otsutsuki.

He had seen a lot of tragic events in his life but he had never witnessed this kind.

He shook his head once more to bring himself back to reality. He blamed his mind for ruining the mood a bit but he look forward to enjoy the rest of the day without any unexpected interruptions.

He turned his focus back on the main scene and saw the three kids happily bonding and chatting. A small smile went across his lips as he felt encouraged once more to join them and enjoy the moment.

* * *

 **(INTERVIEW)**

 **"The chance of returning back home had already left the building, it seems that I'll live the rest of my life here from now on, which is a good thing since I'm grateful to have this opportunity to find myself once again.**

 **-Kurama**

* * *

 **(MEANWHILE)**

The smell of ramen was overwhelming as of now. Itachi, for the countless number of time has found himself once more back at the ramen shop eating his lunch along with his blue skinned partner, who had apparently mysteriously fallen in love with the ramen.

To be honest, he couldn't really predict his friend's interests. Sometimes he would just see him hating a certain food or object and the next time, he was already liking it to which to him, was unexpected.

Kisame on the other hand, was enjoying his ramen again. He had two big bowls already and he was finishing his third, which means he was already on his first three-peat. He didn't even care since his stomach was a freak of different nature and he ate like a shark literally.

Itachi focused back on his meal as he continued to eat while his thoughts ponder about his current objective. He was here in the shop once again because of a certain lavender haired teen, to whom he thought would come back.

He wasn't sure if she would come but he would take the chance just to meet her. He wanted to know more about Sarada, that through this girl named" Himawari", who had the whole story.

As time passed by, he waited and waited, trying to catch the glimpse of the lavender haired teen yet, he would soon realized that luck might not be on his side this time. Although, Itachi himself was not quitter, he will wait all day no matter what it takes.

As he ponder with his thoughts, there was a certain little girl that walked up to the shop, his eyes. caught a glimpse but he didn't bother.

"Miss Miyuki! It's nice to see you again!" Ayame's voice could be heard in big delight.

"The usual Ayame-san." Then the little girl replied, speaking with a tone, much mature for her age.

Itachi walked away from his thoughts, turning to the main scene out of surprise and curiousity. By the time, he got there, he found himself staring at the little girl. She had dark blue eyes, short black hair, and bangs and donned a light green dress with white bloomers underneath and brown boots to complete her attire.

He blinked a couple of times wondering about the girl and continued observing her. What caugh his attention was that he could feel something mysterious about her. It felt like she wasn't just an ordinary kid

It was at this time that the girl had finally noticed him. Her dark blue eyes now staring straight to the eyes of the Uchiha. As for him, he was caught by surprise for the first time, becuse he saw something about that girl, something really different that he can't figure out.

As for Miyuki, she felt weirded out. Again, she had another person staring at her with big huge eyes. She narrowed her eyes and released a huge chunk of her snark and sassiness.

"What are you looking at wrinkles?

* * *

 **(INTERVIEW)**

 **"He seemed so familiar when I first saw him, then I eventually figured out that he was in fact an Uchiha, and he looked stressed as hell."**

 **-Miyuki**

 **"I'm not sure about this little girl, she seemed so mysterious as if she had gone through a lot of events and why did she called me wrinkles? Am I that old looking? or Do I need another long vacation?"**

 **-Itachi**

* * *

 **AN: Hello there guys! Welcome to Arc 4 and its first official chapter. For the past days I had a tough time finding the time to write since I had to finish a lot of school projects that were left hanging in the air. I'm glad that I was able to survived it and continue on planning for the plot of Arc 4.**

 **I'm going to go one at the time in this Arc slowly, since anything can happen. So far these two arcs, which is the Sora Arc, and the Hidan and Kakazu arc are the possible candidates for Arc 4, which Arc do you think is better to tackle?**

 **So far the main plot of the story goes like these: Boruto and co. are sent back to the past without knowledge of what was realñy going on, soon they would discover that are powerful forces behind this and they unexpected newcomers into this big conspiracy that has been happening for a thousand years.**

 **The events in the original timeline (Shippuden and way back.) Had been fixed or manipulated by certain forces, the goal of these certain forces are still unknown but the general idea is that they wanted to take charge of everything believing that everything in world, universe, realms are already hopeless (Since Kami is dead and there's no proper balance and order).**

 **Now, Miyuki, who discovered the conspiracy, had decided to take action and learning that she had no chance of fighting the enemy, sought out simple key individuals in the form of Boruto and friends (Via time travel) because she knew that they had the potential to save lives and even the world.** **And with the game of chess finally beginning, she now has these simple pieces to stop the main enemy's grand plan.**

 **This is the best thing I can do summarize the plot so far. It also has the concept of defying fate or destiny similar to the ideas of Final Fantasy games such as the current plot of FF7 Remake.**

 **I would also like to thank the readers for continuing to support the story, This story will be nothing, without you guys! And Also Quwarichi's Changing Fates fic is Awesome! You guys gotta also check that out!**

 **And lastly, thank you for reading the chapter and hope to see you again :)**


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